Darknight Universe
by Lovingh3art
Summary: The Crystal Gems have been to secret caves, the Moon, Homeworld, and more. But they've never been to Gotham City before - and in a dimensional portal! Will they be able to find a way back before it's too late? Second installment in the Potluck series.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer- I do not own Steven Universe or Batman. All Characters from these two franchises are property of Cartoon Network and DC Comics. However, Emerald is an OC, and thus I have creative flexibility.**

It was a perfectly lovely day on the coast of Beach City. The sun was shining, the birds were flying and chirping, and there wasn't a sign of trouble in the sky.

Near the coast lay an ancient structure. It was a coarse rock temple the size of a mountain. Having the build of a stone goddess with four arms, the formation was covered in moss and sheltered a tiny house in its remaining hands. To be an additional cherry on top, a tall lighthouse lay on the top of the mountain, acting as the stone temple's backbone.

Inside the house, the occupants - better known as the Crystal Gems - were enjoying a normal day. Pearl was fixing a small robot on the kitchen table, while Steven and Connie were watching TV from his bed up on the landing. Purple-skinned Amethyst lay on the sofa, a crumb of pizza on her chin.

"So...bored," Amethyst moaned in tiredness. She plucked a corner of her white tank top to satisfy herself.

"You know, Amethyst," Pearl said, "If you want to do something, you can help me by getting a capacitor for this robot." She motioned towards a piece of metal lying on the table in front of the sofa.

"Pass," Amethyst replied lazily.

Steven, intrigued by their conversation, turned away from looking at the television. "Pearl, where's Garnet?"

"Out looking for some old Gem tech, I'd expect," Pearl replied.

Satisfied, Steven turned back to the TV alongside Connie. They were watching an episode of Crying Breakfast Friends, where Spoon and Pear wound up in an alternate dimension. After meeting a human being, the three put their difference aside to stop a living pile of trash. The episode was odd, and he could tell she was getting that vibe.

"This is weird," Connie replied. "I think other episodes are better than this."

"I guess so," Steven said. "But don't you think-"

His speech was interrupted by a familiar opening of the door. Steven turned like everyone else to see the purple-skinned Garnet enter the room. Her black afro and multicolored specs were as familiar as ever. However, the troubled look planted on her face was not.

" Hey, Garnet. What's up?" Steven asked innocently.

"Trouble," she said in a solemn tone.

Steven, Connie, and the other looked at each other. This couldn't be good.

...

The whole gang sat around the living room, all looking to Garnet, who'd been explaining what she was so worried about.

"I went over to the Kindergarten because I wanted to see if there was any old Ruby ships, ones we could use to travel in space, if necessary. But when I got there, I saw something...off," she paused slightly.

"What was it?" Amethyst asked.

Garnet took a moment to compose herself before she could respond. "It was a Gem...from Homeworld."

"A Homeworld gem?" said Connie, shocked.

"What kind of gem was it?" Pearl asked.

"It was an Emerald," Garnet responded. The room soon filled with a wave of fear from the other Gems.

Steven, curious and nervous about the silence, asked "Pearl, what's an Emerald?"

"A rare and powerful Homeworld gem," she said. "They were an elite guard for White Diamond, but disappeared after our Resistance defeated her Pink counterpart. They're powerful, Steven - incredible strength and skills more precise than mine or Garnet's, and built-in blades that can cut through anything."

"So what?" Amethyst said. "We've taken on Jasper and tons of other bad guys. We can deal with one Emerald, right?"

"That's not the point, Amethyst. If an Emerald is here, it must mean that they're on Homeworld business, and probably looking for something...something likely dangerous. If so, we have to find and stop her before she finds whatever she's looking for," Garnet replied.

Connie raised a hand. "Yeah, but didn't you say she was at the Kindergarten?"

"She isn't anymore," said Garnet. "I saw her teleport out away before I could glean more. She could be anywhere on Earth."

Steven thought about this for a moment. And then something came to him.

"I know somebody who can find her!"

...

The Crystal Gems looked across the vast blue ocean facing their porch. It was a couple of hours after noon, and the shadows had shifted in accordance with the sun. They were waiting for a specific duo, one of the two having - hopefully - the knowledge they needed.

Suddenly a speck appeared in the distance and began to get larger. As it did, colors and shapes took form, allowing the group to see two individuals slowly approaching. One was a slender blue-skinned girl, aqua hair and dress to match. She had two wings made out of water that flapped constantly, allowing her to levitate above the ocean blue. The other character was a small green individual with a face looking like it had goggles on, and a triangular shape of yellow hair. She held onto the slightly larger person, eventually peering towards the gathered Gems.

"Hey clods!" she exclaimed excitedly. Even from a distance, Peridot's trademark phrase could be heard in a heartbeat.

Steven waved intently as Lapis settled Peridot down and retracted her wings into her back. "Hey, guys!"

Lapis smiled upon the comment. "What's up?"

"We've got a problem, and we need your help to solve it," Pearl stated.

Both looked at each other. "What kind of problem?" Peridot asked nervously.

"You remember the Emeralds?" Garnet asked.

"'Course I do," Peridot said. "They were the meanest, toughest gems to serve White Diamond. Why do you ask?"

"An Emerald is on Earth, and we don't know where she went, or what she's looking for."

"You think you might know what she'd be here for, Perri?" Amethyst asked.

Peridot held her hand up to her face, attempting to concentrate. Lapis loomed over her friend, and as if a lightbulb lit up, she realized the answer.

"There's only one place she could've gone. But you're not going to like what I have to say…"

...

The Warp Pad boomed in an explosion of light as the seven figures materialized on it. Once the glow disappeared, all that remained were the Gems. They'd teleported to what appeared to be a stone ruin, complete with ridged rocks and broken concrete structures. What made it appear special were the alien markings strung over the place.

Garnet looked at her green-skinned friend. "Peridot, what is this place?"

"It's an old Homeworld laboratory," said Peridot. "When I arrived on Earth to conduct my assessments of this planet, I collected a good amount of minerals and life samples and brought them to this station. Of course, the constant fights with you clods" - she put extra emphasis on her favorite word - "made me too busy to work on anything I got."

"If this is a lab, where is it?" Connie asked. "All I see is wrecked marble."

"It's underneath, of course," Peridot replied. She pointed to a door shaped like a triangle; unlike the rest of the area, it seemed physically untouched. As they moved closer, they could see a small square box that glowed with green energy.

"It requires my fingerprints to get in. Wait a sec." Peridot scooched closer to the door and immediately stood as tall as she could before touching the scanner with her hand. A few seconds later, it beeped and then turned red.

"Error. Incorrect signature," a voice from the door said.

"What?" Peridot got angry at this issue. "I'm a Peridot! I should have access to this hunk of junk!"

"Well, you have regenerated since then. Maybe it doesn't remember you," Lapis said thoughtfully.

"This still stinks!" Peridot shouted in anger.

Steven studied the door. It looked sturdy and experienced, but maybe…

"Garnet," he said. "You should try to break it. I bet your strength would do it."

"I'll try," Garnet replied. She readied her hands, morphing them into fists with stars on top. Then she aimed them at the door and let loose, the heavy hands colliding with the withered brick. To everyone's surprise, the door fell apart easily.

"Not that hard, I guess," Garnet said. "Come on."

The other gems tagged along behind her. The exposed hallway began to head downwards, a series of stairs forcing the group to move slowly and carefully. Shadows pressed against them, while symbolic shapes appeared on the walls. If it hadn't been this obvious before, these marks were direct confirmation of this being a Gem laboratory.

Soon, a green glow appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Garnet made a signal to be quiet before turning to continue descending. At the bottom, the group saw what the lab looked like. It was, for the majority, an open space. Filled across it was various pieces of cylindered tech that looked definitely not of Earth. However, a glance or two said these devices hadn't been used in a very long time, as evidenced by the cracks and dust apparent on them.

Steven turned away from the basic viewpoint and saw that farther along the green glow emanated. "Guys!" he whispered. "Over there!"

All of the gems could see it; a smaller chamber that was lit up. As they neared, they heard a female voice talking to herself. Once around the corner, the group saw the gem. She was tall, slightly over Garnet's height. She had green skin and long dark grass hair with gem braids at the bottom. Homeworld tattoos lined her face and arms. Finally, she wore a simple jumpsuit with shoulder armor of black color. Put together, her image was powerful and terrifying.

"Whoa," said Amethyst in shock. "THAT'S Emerald?"

"In the flesh," whispered Peridot. "Don't go easy on her - she's dangerous."

They watched as Emerald moved over to a small chest near the back of the chamber. She opened it and produced a tube with an unknown organic content. Steven wondered what exactly it was. The closest thing he could recall to it was the Gem mutants he'd fought with Connie. Then it came to him. _Are they mutants, too?_

"Everyone get ready," Garnet whispered toughly. She tensed to get composed for the fight, followed by the others in their own ways. Steven himself prepared by making his shield out of thin air once again.

"Emerald!" Garnet shouted as the group stepped into the Gem's line of sight. "What are you doing here?"

The Homeworld Gem turned towards her with a cold grin. "I've found what I need, Crystal Gems – the perfect way to expand upon our science. I was planning on getting back to Homeworld without a cinch, but taking you all down won't be a problem!" She threw the canister upon the ground before extending her arms. As she did, sharp blades materialized on her wrists. They were colored an even darker shade of green, and the very sight of them was threatening.

Emerald shot forward, pointing the blades at Garnet. The experienced Crystal Gem barely locked his fists with the blades before being thrown backward. Pearl struck with her spear, but Emerald swirled around and chucked her into the nearby wall as well. Landing with an oof, she became unconscious. Seeing this, Steven got all the more worried.

"If she can't beat her, then who can?" He asked himself, mainly in shock.

"Don't think like that!" cried Connie. She leaped into the air next to him and landed in front of Emerald, leveling her sword at the Gem. Emerald responded by swiping her twin blades, deadlocking with Connie's pink sword like toothpicks in tight-knit teeth. Giving the girl a dark smile, Emerald applied pressure to the deadlock, giving her enough momentum to pull her blades out and attempt a swipe at Connie. The girls athletics became handy as she dodged the blow, back flipped, and landed a few feet away with her sword still in her hands.

"It'll take more than that to stop us," Connie stated seriously. The villainess simply smirked at the comment.

"Like I care. To me, all you Gems are nothing more than a disgrace to our empire."

"Not true!" Amethyst yelled while running, producing her whip and thrashing the balls at her. The sharp edges of the spikes collided with Emerald's armor, leaving a small set of scratches. Upon seeing them, Emerald's face lit up with rage.

"You...you Crystal Gems will pay!" She screamed in fury. Her dark green wrist blades grew to an uncomfortable length in response to this.

"Yeah, rig- whoa!" Amethyst swiftly dodged a jab from Emerald's weapon. She swung her spiked whip around for another go, but the taller and intimidating Gem simply grabbed it and used it to swung her into a stone pillar. "Oofff!"

"Amethyst!" Steven cried in shock. He gripped his pink shield before flinging it Emerald. The projectile found its mark and collided directly with her head, knocking her temporarily to the ground. As this happened, Peridot raised her hands and strained a little. The small metal container easily floated over to her, landing on the ground in front of her feet.

Emerald massaged her head, then turned to glance venomously at the two. "Rose Quartz, you ruin everything!" She loathed.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm Steven!" He said in response.

"Yeah!" Peridot said in agreement. "Take that, clod!" Raising her tiny arms, the green alien concentrated on a stray rod of metal stuck in the wall next to her. It flew out of the wall and then directly at Emerald. However, the villainous Gen was more than ready. She quickly sliced through the air, leaving several pieces of cut metal on the ground. Peridot gaped at her in shock, as did Steven.

"A poor effort," Emerald cackled. She braced to run at them when a loud shout from behind caught her attention.

"Emerald!" The Gem turned in time to get a massive gut punch from Garnet, clearly enraged and more powerful than ever. The blow sent her back several feet, but she managed to brush it off as if it was nothing. Garnet pressed forward, delivering a series of punches and kicks. "Whatever you're planning on doing, it ends here!"

The villain was so busy with Garnet that she didn't notice Pearl sneaking up on her. Taking a second to create her trident, Pearl leapt forward with her weapon outstretched. However, the sharp blade was caught, to the shock of her be Garnet, by one of Emerald's swords. The sharp noise only proved she could fight on two fronts.

"Trying to beat me behind my back?" She sneered. "How 'noble' of you."

"Try this on for size!" The three saw Connie vaulting towards them in the air, aiming her sword at the villain. Knowing she couldn't hold her off as well, Emerald pushed Pearl to the side and held up her left blade in time to clash with the girl's. Connie pushed valiantly, but the green-skinned Gem managed to stay her ground and ultimately direct her back with tremendous force. Steven watched in shock as his best friend slammed into a wall, a tinge of pain in her arm causing her sword to fall.

"Connie!" He shouted. The boy turned to Lapis, the whole time having been near the far-off door. "Lapis, do something!"

"Got it!" She said confidently. The blue girl raised an arm, mustering all the control she had before letting a devastating blast of water out. The hydrokinetic burst went directly towards Emerald, sending her crashing into the nearest wall, just like she had done to everyone else. Pearl and Garnet, no longer dealing with her fury, relaxed and stood at the warrior of a villain.

"Not so tough now," said Pearl snidely. Garnet gave her a reproachful glance.

"I wouldn't be so sure," She replied. One of her heavy fists pointed to Emerald's body, which while unconscious, was feebly stirring. Meanwhile, Steven walked over to the canister and held it in his hand. His eyes slowly scanned the contents, which looked like some sort of brown goo mixed with toothpaste.

"Wow! We beat one of those clods!" Peridot cheered as she moved closer to the others. Everyone except Steven was staring at the temporarily knocked out Emerald, tired but ready in case she got up again. As predicted, the villainess' eyes opened and she suddenly stood up, the fight seeming to have had no effect on her.

"You thought you could beat me?" Emerald cackled. "Think twice."

"Ugh...here we go again," Lapis complained while absentmindedly creating a ball of water. Garnet and the others prepped for another fight, even If it was futile.

"Guys?" Everyone turned to Steven. He held the container of mysterious substances in his hand, which for some reason for glowing. He looked worried. "What's happening?"

"Steven!" Connie yelled. "Get away from It!"

He barely had time to do this. The second he threw it into the air, something strange happened. The room itself seemed to change and swell before a blue portal appeared out of thin air. The swirling energy vortex suddenly began to suck the air out of the space as if it was a vacuum cleaner.

"Hold on!" Garnet yelled. The gems firmly planted their feet in an attempt to resist the pull of the portal, but the rest of the room began to be pulled instead. Portions of the stone columns and walls degraded, then were sucked in. Emerald did her best to hang onto the wall she was next to, but despite her best efforts, her body was lifted up and she floated quickly into the breach. "Nooo!" She screamed before disappearing in a flash.

"Garnet, what do we do?!" Pearl asked urgently, attempting to hold onto the pillar next to her arm. Dust was colliding in front of them before being sucked away.

"Hang on, that's what!" Their leader answered. Steven tried as hard as he could, but whatever was happening was trying to stop him from doing so. Suddenly, a crashing sound filled her ears. Looking up, he was alarmed to see the ceiling was coming down on them. There was no escape.

"Watch out!" Steven screamed, but he knew it was futile. As strong and hard to hurt as they were, the Gems - as well as him and Connie - were just human. They couldn't survive it. Was this the end? He had planned on doing so much more in life.

As the ceiling came inches of hitting the Gems, a strange sensation occurred. They all didn't feel crashing pain or blackness. It was a feeling of pure elation, and the group felt they were floating farther away.

They were going somewhere - just somewhere they didn't know.

 **And that's chapter one! So, if you guys read my fiction Potluck, this story is sort of a spiritual sucessor. Because Potluck left the door open to crossovers, stories like this can happen. I can promise Batman and The Gems crossing paths will be climactic and cool! Also, I can confirm his usual allies, his friends from Detective Comics, and several of his foes will appear in this. It's time to be excited!**


	2. Chapter 2

**To all you guys who follow this, thanks. I'm excited to be writing this and I plan on seeing it through. This comic is going to use a lot of DC Rebirth references from the current Batman and Detective Comics titles. Just FYI.**

 **Also, anytime anyone reviews, I'll try to generally answer their questions. Questions are fine to ask, so feel free to do so.**

 **Shian1998: My take on Batman is going to be pretty close to the comics, so he despises killing. Yes, Oleander's actions in "Potluck" are responsible for this. And Emerald will be the villain here.**

 **Now, to chapter two!**

"This doesn't make sense. Computer, rewind by five seconds."

A black finger clicked the keyboard before the computer complied and replayed the tape. Standing in front of Arkham Asylum was the laughing Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker. His face was full of glee as he looked upon the visage of the multiple guards he'd gassed. His hand reached for his knife before the screen went black.

Batman stared at the Belfry's main computer, puzzled. It wasn't that he was stupid – obviously – but the Joker's actions had no logic. Sure, the man was certifiably insane, but why attack Arkham? After he had escaped the base underneath the Batcave, he'd gone off the map. What could he planning? Was it related to the other two Jokers he'd seen months ago? With all the mystery surrounding Mr. Oz, Tim, the Button, and even the Metal, Bruce was drawing more blanks than usual.

"Late night?" asked a familiar voice. The dark knight whirled around to find a tall, moderately fit woman in a dark blue jacket and black jeans. Her skin was close to pale white, her unique red hair given a military cut. Kate Kane, better known as Batwoman, was Bruce's cousin and leader of the Belfry's team of vigilantes. She was also a lot more down to earth, and visibly showed this through her smirk.

"Looking at a lead," he said bluntly. "What's up?"

"I'm clocking in for the night," Kate replied. "Me and the rest of the team are going to Batburger for dinner. You want to come?"

For a moment, he considered. He had been under a lot of stress, and taking a break wouldn't necessarily be bad. However, his mental will took over. He knew he needed the answers to this question, even if it meant putting off dinner.

"No thank you," the vigilante said, attempting a mix of politeness and hard truth. Kate seemed unfazed by his refusal.

"Your loss," Kate said as she walked away to the elevator. Bruce was a good man, but sometimes he let his stubbornness get the better of him.

Once the elevator closed, Batman turned back to the computer and typed in some commands. A series of images appeared, showing Joker's various allies and former bases. This was a very rhetorical situation. He knew for a fact that several Gotham villains – Harley, Croc, Clayface, and Catwoman – were either pursuing heroic paths or had no connections currently to him. All of his old hideouts were trashed and destroyed, so that was out of the picture. Unless…

Batman pressed the side of his cowl, sending an electronic signal to a close ally. A second later, he heard a casual reply. "Bruce, what's up?" Nightwing asked through his end.

"Meet me at A.C.E. Chemicals," Batman said, getting up as he talked. "And bring Damian and Barbara."

"Is this about Joker?"

"We're going to find out," he said. Once the call was hung up, the dark night walked over to a far off wall and pressed it. A human-sized hatch opened, exposing him to the tall skyscrapers and cold air. Getting his grapnel out, Batman let it fly and swung out into the open air. This was going to be a long night.

…

Steven's eyes opened slowly, giving time to try to accommodate to the absence of total light. The feeling, or whatever he'd felt, was gone. He managed to see clearly and lifted his head, gazing up at a massive skyscraper. Managing to gain control over his body, he hoisted himself up. From the looks of it, they were in a city. At first thought, he assumed it was Crown City, but then he noticed the slightly darker buildings and overall dour atmosphere. _How did we go from that Gem lab to this place?_ He thought.

"Ugh…" Steven looked next to him on the ground and was surprised to see the rest of his allies. Connie was on her back, her hands holding onto Rose Quartz's sword protectively. The rest of the gems were strewn across the ground, some on their faces and other uncomfortable positions.

"Connie!" The boy helped her up, noticing that she was taking their residence of an alley into effect. "You okay?"

"I think…" the dark-skinned girl massaged her head and looked groggily at the alley before back to her friend. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," he said truthfully. "This isn't Crown City, that's for sure."

"How can you tell?"

"Things feel…different here," Steven said. He couldn't tell why, but it was like the environment was talking to him, and it sounded sad.

"…Steven?" Both kids turned to the rest of the Gems. Garnet was slowly getting awake, while Amethyst lazily rubbed her eye and Pearl stood up to stretch. Peridot and Lapis yawned simultaneously.

"Garnet!" Connie said.

"You guys are awake!" Steven exclaimed. "I don't know where we are! I don't-"

The Gem leader put a hand on Steven's shoulder, trying her best to keep him calm. "It's all right," she said soothingly. "We'll figure it out." She glanced at the lights coming from the close street. "Seems like we're in a city."

"Is it Crown City?" Amethyst moaned. "Seems like a pretty big distance."

"It makes no sense for us to be…there," Pearl said. "And anywhere at all. That explosion happens, and next thing we wind up here. There's no logic to it…"

"Well, can we look already?" said Peridot excitedly. "I'm tired of sitting around!"

"All in good time, Peridot," Garnet stated. "Everyone, lets's go." Following their leader, the rest of the Crystal Gems walked to the end of the alley, coming under the lights of the exposed street. Held in front of them was a dark city environment. Lights were burnt out, neon signs were aglow, and a light blue haze had settled into the night sky. The majority of the skyscrapers they could see were in shadows, lit up in part by the dozens of orange window lights.

"Wow…" Steven said open-mouthed, gazing at the scene. "It's so…"

"Dark?" Lapis interjected. "Sorry, this place just gives me the creeps."

"You're not the only one," Pearl shuddered. She glanced around and noticed a small newspaper stand up ahead. As they got closer, it could be seen that the stand was closed, metal bars standing in front of where it would normally be open. However, a spare newspaper was laying on the ground. Curious, the Gem warrior picked it up. "This says we're some place called…Gotham City. Looks very different to Beach City."

"How?" asked Peridot.

"Aside from the obvious," Pearl stated while fumbling through the pages, "this newspaper says there's a lot of crime here."

Steven and Connie shared a worried look. Crime had never been an issue back home. If it was noticed in a newspaper, how bad was it?

"Sounds like my kinda place," Amethyst let slip.

"Enough," Garnet said. "We need information. Unfortunately, being in this big a group will only slow us down. Let's split up into two smaller ones."

"To do what?" Lapis asked. She held onto her arm tenderly.

"One group will try to find how far Beach City is from here. The other group looks for the container Emerald had." Garnet smashed her knuckles together to emphasize the point. "Meet back here in two hours. Yes, Steven?"

Steven raised his hand. "Where do we go to do this stuff?"

"Maybe a library?" Connie interjected.

"Good idea," Garnet said. "Connie, Lapis, you're with me. Pearl, Steven, Amethyst, and Peridot, try to cover some ground. We need to find that container. If it was a new Gem threat, we have to contain it before it causes harm."

Everyone nodded in agreement as their groups departed. As they left, the heroes had no idea someone was watching them from a faraway rooftop. A lank man in a doctor's uniform, his head covered by a fearsome mask, smiled. These new people were fascinating, to say the least. He moved with glee and whirled the fear gas syringe in his fingers excitedly.

"More sheep for my fear gas, it seems," Scarecrow cackled before disappearing into the night.

 **Scarecrow? The team going to get dinner? And a certain container in the wind? Things are about to get explosive!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm back! Sorry it took a while, but school is busy. Anyway, here's the third chapter, and some Q &A!**

 **Whiskey Wu: Thank you!**

 **Shian1998: Thank You!**

 **TheBlade17: I don't know exactly. However, if this story goes in the way it is currently, then it just might!**

 **And without further ado, Dark Knight Universe's third chapter!**

 _A man walked closer, clad in black and a dark cowl. He pinched her shoulder before giving a stern look. Everything that Garnet knew was lost in the explosion. Emerald stood triumphant, laying the city under her horrible reign. And there she was, a defeated fusion with nothing left to hold dear._

"Garnet!"

"Huh?" The Gem leader snapped out of her thoughts, realizing she hadn't been paying attention. She stood over the girl who was worried and curious about her vision. No, her future vision. Connie was lucky, as was everyone else. They didn't have to deal with a million differing possibilities every time they considered an action.

But this time was different. Who was the man in black, and what did he want? How had Emerald gotten so powerful, so quickly? Her conscience took over, making her remember the mission. That was more important than worrying too much about something that couldn't happen.

"Lost myself in the moment," the purple warrior replied. She surveyed the room with her specs to take it all in. Contrary to what she'd expected, the Gotham public library was in quite good shape. Books were stacked in rows, shelved in sections spread out accordingly. There was very little, if any, dust visible in the tables and laptop stations. Twelve computers were placed in sections ranging from horror to non-fiction and biographies. A clock on the wall indicated the time to be 7:42. A lank old man, obviously the desk librarian, sat at his desk reading a thick biography.

Additionally, Garnet and Lapis had changed to accommodate the situation. Both women were wearing clothing that matched their personal color schemes; a purple tank top for Garnet, and a coral long-sleeve sweater for Lapis. This was the former's idea, as she believed they would arouse less suspicion if they manifested human clothing.

The trio approached the desk employee, whose eyes ballooned when he saw all three of them. "Hello…how can I help you ladies?"

Connie took a deep breath in, then said, "We were wondering if we could use the computer? Do we need a library card?"

The librarian scratched his head and chuckled. "Don't worry, sweetie. You can sign in for a period of time." His eyes traveled to the Gem females, pondering nervously on their own intentions. "Are you two wanting to do that as well?"

"No," said Garnet flatly. "We're just going to sit next to her."

After a moment of thought, the man grabbed a white board and gave them it. "I see," he said. "In that case, use any of the computers nearby. The time limit is one hour." Connie quickly scribbled her name into the page and then handed it back to him, beaming. She took off several feet away to a computer resting near the young adult section.

"What're we looking for?" She asked curiously. Lapis sat next to her on a spare wooden seat, stroking the smooth ringed pattern. As for Garnet, she simply stood above the girl, overseeing her search.

"Anything that tells us what Gotham is. How far our home is from here." Garnet spared no urgency in her statement.

"Got it," Connie said. She opened the computer and got onto an internet search engine. She typed some keywords in, then clicked "Enter." Her efforts went on for several minutes until shock appeared on her face. "What the heck?"

"What's wrong?" Lapis said, drawn out of fingering the wood and now looking with care at her human friend.

"I looked up Beach City," the girl said slowly, in an attempt to relate the story accurately. "But…it's not here, or something. There's no record of it on the internet." She looked up at Garnet, who seemed almost unfazed by the news.

"Are you sure?"

"I checked the internet three times, looked it up on this Maps site, and even tried finding the info for Fish Stew Pizza," said Connie with worry now in her voice. She looked at the ground, a sinking feeling in her stomach. "Beach City…doesn't exist."

It took a short amount of time for the words to sink in. As they did, the two gems felt…confounded. Once again, things made no sense, but still…How could Beach City disappear? And did that mean they were somewhere else…someplace that was wrong?

Lapis looked uncertainly at Garnet. "What do we do, Garnet?" The imposing figure held her hand to her chin for some time before answering.

"Beach City disappearing…is a mystery," the purple-skinned warrior stated. "For now, we should try to find out as much about Gotham City as we can." She turned to Connie as she said this. "Connie, can you go that?"

"Sure thing!" Connie cracked her knuckles and typed once again, noticeably faster this time, as she searched long and far across the internet. Five minutes later, she rested her fingers and turned to her allies, who had decided to pass the time by reading some spare articles nearby. "I found something."

"What?" Both asked in unison.

"Gotham," she said, "has a pretty big crime rate, which we knew. What we didn't know is that it has this hero – or vigilante – called Batman. He wears a mask and fights criminals, using gadgets and skills to do it." Connie made space for Garnet and Lapis to view the screen. Lodged in the middle was a blurry but detailed photo of a man in a black and dark grey costume, wearing a bat-shaped cowl and a cape. He glared daggers at the camera, his body partly disappearing into the blackness.

"Interesting…" Garnet pondered. Lapis shrugged casually at the photo.

"Too black for my taste."

"Looks kind of…" Connie couldn't exactly find the right word.

"Intimidating?" Garnet placed a hand on her shoulder. "I think he means it that way." Her colorful specs scanned the library, seeing that nobody was in it. "We'll keep looking for Beach City, but right now, I'd rather we reunite with the rest of the group."

As Connie hopped down, Lapis joined them in beginning to leave. "You're don't feel safe here?"

"It's worse than that," Garnet cooly responded. "This city is full of uncertainty, danger, and a masked vigilante whom we know next to nothing about. If we want to get home, we'll need to do it as a group, and not as pawns in a place we're not even trusting." She quickly pushed the door before letting the others out. With one last look at the library, she walked out, letting the door swing behind her.

…

Renee Montoya walked through the intense crowds of Gotham's citizens, dodging clumps here and there with swiftness. She had two pressing cases to deal with, not to mention a new – and temporary – partner who was a real idiot, so time was of the essence. The least life could do to thank her would be making way on the street.

The female cop was so absorbed into her thoughts that she didn't noticed a small boy right in front of her. Her leg collided with his body and they fell, she tripped onto her front while he fell on his back. Catching herself in the nick of time, Renee looked back at her accidental passenger. The boy was roughly ten to twelve years old; he had a red shirt on with a yellow star, and his hair was full of brown curls.

"I'm so sorry!" Renee exclaimed out of instinct. "Are you okay?"

Steven massaged his arm a little, but seemed rather alright. "Yeah," he said. "I'm okay. Steven's my name." The small boy held out his hand tenderly, initially startling but not totally scaring Renee. Taking a leap, she shook it.

"Nice to meet you," she answered.

"Steven!" Both turned to see a tall and cream-colored woman, flanked by two short others in green and purple, coming towards them. Something felt off about their clothing to the cop, almost as if it was hastily made up. She inferred from the woman's tone that she was his mother. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," replied Steven.

"Don't get lost, dude!" Amethyst stated. "A crowd this big – we could lose you!"

Renee coughed politely, getting their attention. "Sorry. I dint mean to collide with your son."

"Oh, it's okay," Pearl said, attempting to fabricate a voice of understanding. "Things happen." She motioned for Steven to come over to her, which he did. "We'll be off…have a good day!"

As they walked away, Renee couldn't help shake the feeling that they weren't being honest. It wasn't everyday that she met people who had skin the color of the rainbow. Sensing nothing else to worry about, she turned and continued upon her path.

Now some distance away, the group rested at a bench inside the massive square. Whole flocks passed them, seeming unaware about their presence due to the sights. "Ugh…" Pearl sighed. "I'll never understand humans and their fascinations."

"What are we going to do about the container?" Steven asked, urgency obvious in his voice. "It could be anywhere!"

Pearl held a finger up to her lips. "Well…we could try – Omygosh! Look!" As the warrior Gem directed her finger towards the square, Steven and others followed it. Standing several yards away was a man in a black suit, heavy in stature and cool in composure. His gaze and facial look had a complicated look upon them. However, what was most intriguing was that he was clutching a small white container in his hand. He walked away hurriedly, getting farther away in the process.

"That clod has the container!" exclaimed Peridot.

"Lets follow him," said Amethyst. She cracked her knuckles in excitement.

"Alright, but everyone," Pearl said. "Lets be careful about this."

"C'mon!" Steven bolted faster the man. Seeing that he was leaving, they scrambled after him in an attempt to stay constant with their companion.

…

A.C.E. Chemicals was a large steel complex, consisting of several sturdy chemical plants and a massive control center that distributed the chemicals. At this time of night, the building was shut down, evidenced by the absence of lights in the windows. However, that didn't stop a certain dark knight from getting on top of the roof like he owned it.

Batman heard a rustle sneak past his ear before glancing around. A boy in a green and red outfit gave him a surly look while gripping his birdarang with ease. Behind him, two more appeared out of thin air: a muscular male in a black and blue costume, and a girl in a purple outfit with red hair resting comfortably on her shoulders. These three were Robin, Nightwing and Batgirl, allies and children to his ideals. Nightwing flashed his cocky grin, just like always. "What's up, Bruce?"

The dark knight turned back to the steel door underneath his feet. "Code names in the field, Nightwing." He bent down to scrape the handle, allowing his fingers to get it open with little effort. "Joker escaped Arkham recently, and this facility was robbed in the last 24 hours. Lets see if he left a clue."

"Hopefully not on purpose," Batgirl quipped.

Once he found the ladder leading down, Batman descended step by step. The other three followed suit. The deeper they got, the more of the plant was exposed to their view. Whole sections of metal walkways, giant chemical mixing chambers, and a massive computer station were in range. The dark knight gracefully dropped onto the ground, then pulled up his wrist computer to scan the area. Robin landed besides him, clearly disgruntled.

"No offense, father," Robin sneered, "but the Joker leaves an explosive trail in his wake. One chemical being stolen doesn't seem like him."

"I wouldn't underestimate him," responded Nightwing. He scanned the scene for any trace of the clown, broken glass filtering into his gaze in addition to spilled chemicals. He soon saw something out of the ordinary; a cabinet with a shattered glass case. Whatever had been inside it was long gone. "Found it."

Batgirl's eyes narrowed at the smashed case. "What was in there?" She questioned.

"Records say it was an experimental isotope – B-62," Batman said while viewing the files from his holographic wrist computer. "It was a recent discovery created by lead chemical engineer Sophia Vandermede."

"Interesting," said Robin, giving a nod at where the chemical has been stolen.

"What exactly does this thing do?" Batgirl asked.

"According to the files here, B-62 can alter molecular structures in a superficial and real way. It changes everything anatomically." Batman's finger rotated the holographic wheel, expanding the files about he got the information he desired.

"Seems like the perfect thing Joker'd need to cause chaos," Nightwing quipped. Robin looked appalled at the comment.

"Oh, like you're one to figure that out, Grayson. It's common knowledge at this point!"

"Look, Robin—"

"Knock it off!" Batgirl demanded, irritation building on her face.

A thick rustling noise drew everyone's attention. The ladder moved softly, and a shadow disappeared from the roof opening. Batman was nowhere to be found.

"Where did he go?" Robin said, evidently astonished by his father's disappearance.

"Where do you think?" Nightwing deadpanned. "While we were arguing, he pulled off his disappearing act." He moved to the ladder himself, then gripped the bars tightly. "Lets go."

…

Pearl kept her body firmly against the wall as she walked down the street, cautious in case her hunch was right. Behind her, Steven, Amethyst, and Peridot hunched and looked worried. They'd followed the man with the canister several blocks east, eventually winding up in a poorer district of Gotham called the Cauldron. Evidenced from the buildings in need of repair and the littered streets, this was the perfect place to be inconspicuous.

The warrior's eyes looked forward once again, seeing the shady man stop in front of a massive warehouse with faded crimson paint, the door looking out of repair for some time. He waived a hand and the door slowly freaked away, giving enough space for him to fit in. The door closed to leave Pearl astonished. What was this, a secret operation or something?

"Pearl." She looked to her left, and to her relief, saw Garnet and the others. They must've arrived recently to have caught her off her guard.

"Garnet," she replied. "We think the man that went in there has the container. What's your idea?"

The purple Gem shifted her view to the warehouse, gazing at it with nothing else to look at. Finally, she looked back at the rest of the Gems. "We go in and get that container."

"Awww yeah!" Amethyst said excitedly. "We're gonna kick some butt!" She jumped up and down with fervent energy.

"Lets go!" Garnet ran quickly to the building, so the rest of the group followed. When they arrived at the building, they all expected her to punch the door in. To their surprise, she did the opposite; she touched it and looked up.

"He's on the eleventh floor."

"How do you know that?" Steven asked.

"Future vision," replied Garnet. Without so much as an order, she braced before leaping onto the side of the warehouse. Using her massive gauntlets to dig into the wall, she climbed with hard effort. Everyone else gaped in surprise.

"That's our plan?" Peridot stated. "Climb a wall?"

"Do you have a better idea?" Pearl said back. "Come on, everyone!" Pearl leaped onto the side of the building with ease, digging her spear into the side. Amethyst leaped up and followed. Lapis looked up with a sigh and then released her wings.

"I'll give you a ride," she said to Peridot. The green skinned Gem looked pleased at this.

"That'd be great!" She squeaked as the two took off. That left only Steven and Connie, who looked at the wall like it was an impossible obstacle course.

"You can hold onto me while I jump," Steven said tenderly.

"You can jump that high? Is it safe?"

"Just trust me," Steven said, holding out his hand. After a moment, Connie took it and gripped onto his back like they were doing a piggyback. Steven looked up, braced his body, and leapt up. He shot through the air quickly, landing right besides the other Gems. At this point, they'd reached the eleventh floor. Steven floated safely so he and Connie wouldn't be hurt. Out of nowhere, he felt a sudden thought go to his head.

"Garnet…" he said cautiously. "I think there's a meeting going on. Not far from here."

Garnet nodded and opened the window, crawling in. As the rest of the Gems crawled in after her, they were able to process the room they'd gotten into. It was a damp, rectangular space with black walls and broken equipment scattered all over. Voices could be heard from the area next door.

"Everyone be prepared. We're probably about to meet some…unfortunate company," Garnet said. The entire group slowly meandered to the door, then carefully opened it.

The room next to them was much larger and the size of a small football field. Spread out were at least twenty six men, all generally tall and wearing dark grey uniforms with military equipment spread across their body. The tops of their faces were obscured by blue circles, and then covered more by grey hoods connected to their. They all carried rifles and were standing at attention, looking past the various weapons and machines they'd rigged, right towards their leader.

He was the mechanical equivalent of a monster in military garb. He had on a dark grey and brown suit with various yellow tubes strapped to his chest and belt. His arms, chest, and boots were robustly mechanized, and his face was a metal helmet with two haunting yellow eyes. They gazed towards his men with a hatred that could give Jasper a run for her money.

"Who's this?" Peridot snarled quietly. "A fan of Batman?"

The question was answered before another member of the group could speak. The heavily armored man stepped down from a makeshift throne and eyed his men. "Greetings, men. You have all been disgraced by this city, by the Bat. He and his followers treat it like their playground. But tonight, we take it back! Tonight, crime will rule forever, and at the hand of WRATH!"

Cheers from the Scorns sounded, echoing through the massive room and repeating harshly. The Gems watched with increasing worry at the scene. Only one sentence played through Garnet's head.

 _What have I gotten us into?_

 **The only teaser for next chapter: Explosions!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Some time has passed, but this story is still kicking! Thanks for the support and those who follow this. Here's the new chapter!**

"Who's Wrath?" Amethyst asked quietly while looking at the group. The various minions were chanting louder, raising their guns and items in a dangerous fashion.

"I don't know," Garnet replied. "Let's watch it play out."

As soon as she had said this, Wrath boldly moved towards his soldiers, his yellow eyes narrowed in continued arrogance. His raised a finger and placed it harshly on the chest on one of his Scorns, causing the example to get nervous at being addressed.

"Do you have what it takes to free Gotham from the Bat?" Wrath asked venomously.

"Yes, sir!"

"Good." Wrath moved quickly amongst the rows of cloaked, cybernetic henchmen. "We strike at midnight. The GCPD thinks because they can call upon him, they are protected. They aren't. We will make them an example of Gotham's future!" Another wave of cheers followed this. Steven looked horrified at what was happening.

"This is horrible…" he said. "He seems horrible."

Before Pearl could respond, shuffling was heard amongst the ranks. A generic Scorn appeared out of the massive herd and made his way to the front, standing before their leader. "Sir!"

"What is it?" Wrath asked, giving the Gems he did not like being addressed without respect.

"I found something you'll find interesting." The Scorn dig into his cloak and whipped out, to the Gems' shock, the very same container they'd been looking for. It was as transparent as when they'd first seen it in Emerald's palm.

Wrath viewed the container with bigotry. "Is this supposed to be a jewel? What is _it_?"

The Scorn looked abashed at the comment. "A power source, sir. My monitors saw energy in it that was off the charts!"

"Energy?" Connie realized. "That container packed enough energy to send us here?"

Apparently none of the Gems heard this, as Wrath took everyone's attention once again. He snatched the container from his minion's hands and held it closer. After a few seconds, he looked back to the Scorn. "I will study this. Rest assured, your effort is noted." The villain turned and began to walk back to his throne.

Garnet's face twisted into serious dislike at this. "Get ready. Now," she whispered heavily to the others. Before anyone else could respond, the purple Gem had darted out and stood plainly in view to the entire crowd. "Hey!"

All of the Scorns, in addition to Wrath, looked to Garnet in a fit of surprise. Within seconds, the rest of the Crystal Gems were behind her, standing resolute and ready. The gathering was a shock.

"Give the container up," Garnet demanded. Her tone was dead serious.

Wrath's helmet concealed his face, but as he spoke, his tone indicated an amused reaction. "And why would I do that? My men and I are armed with cutting-edge technology. You, most likely disciples of the bat, are inexperienced at best." He rounded this out with a hollow laugh, then turned to his goons. "Men, prepare to fire."

The Scorns loaded their rifles and trained them on the Gems. As their bullets began to rocket at the heroes, a sudden pink bubble erupted from thin air and enveloped the Gems. The bullets deflected off of it like nothing, leaving the Gems unscathed.

"Good job, Steven!" Pearl said. "Let us out now!"

Steven braced his arms and shouted, "Got it!" The pink bubble dissipated quickly, exposing the warriors to the rest of the room. Pearl quickly charged out, jumping and swinging her trident around in a circle. The move knocked down two Scorns and sent another flying backwards. Peridot was behind her, raising her small arms to halt a wave of bullets from a number of Scorns back further.

"These guys really are violent!" Peridot said to Pearl. "Talk about overkill."

"Never thought you'd be one for puns," Pearl smirked as she knocked a rifle away from a goon.

Some feet away, Connie traded blows with a Scorn who had a long black katana. The two swords were evenly matched; at least, that was until Connie applied pressure and did a swirl. The sword flew out of the Scorn's hands, and the next thing he knew, Connie had punched him square in the face.

Lapis was having luck working with Steven. He used his shield to block bullets from the rifles, and in turn, she blasted various minions with water she created. The tag team effort worked, drenching criminals and knocking them off balance.

Meanwhile, Amethyst was having the time do her life. She'd turned into a wheel and was crashing right into the Scorns. They tried valiantly to stop her, but their bullets just missed her. Helping her was Garnet, who prompted to deliver a series of devastating punches and kicks. Several Scorns lay on the floor thanks to the ferocity and force of these blows, groaning in pain.

"This is fun, right Garnet?" Amethyst said, serving to avoid a shot from a Scorn several meters away. She transformed in mid air and attacked him with her whip instantaneously.

"I wouldn't say fun…" Garnet responded, defending herself from various shots as she said this. "…But it is exciting." She shot a small smile at Amethyst, instantly sending a giggle down the throat of the purple Gem.

The Gems were having so much fun defeating the Scorns, that they never saw Wrath gazing at them all. He had escaped to the nearby balcony near the window, watching the battle as it was unfolded. To be frank, it was insane. These women and children had fainted-handedly defeated most of his forces, all of his soldiers having been armed with weapons. And for what, a container? He now realized they probably had nothing to do with Batman, yet a part of him was intrigued by their desire. What made a container like this so special? If they were willing to be so substantial a threat to his plans…

Then he would delay theirs as well.

Wrath took out the container, held it in the air, and shouted, "Stop!" Everyone on the room floor below him halted before gazing in his direction. All of the Gems panted heavily, while the majority of his men were lying on the ground, either unconscious or moaning in pain.

"You may have bested my men, but I won't be stopped by the likes of you," Wrath spat. "It's time to end this…"

"Give us the container and we'll end it gladly," Pearl said with saltiness in her voice.

"Funny. We both have different ideas on that," Wrath said back. He secreted an explosive from his belt and held next to the container. "I prefer the explosive kind." With no regrets, the villain dropped the weapon, letting it fall towards the others.

Garnet vaulted forwards, her fists outstretched as the bomb went supernova. "No!" She cried.

Steven watched, shocked and some feet away. "Garnet, no!"

The explosion erupted before anything else was said. After that, only a broken building, black smoke, and silence was left.

…

Batman grappled through the cold city air, making sure his line was working well in supporting him. Behind him, Robin was flying valiantly, a grimace on his face. He dared not look at Nightwing or Batgirl, as tonight had not been rewarding at all.

A sudden BOOM! was heard from far off. The four vigilantes managed to land on a nearby building just in time, seeing a big pile of smoke emerge from a far-off section of the city.

"That…that had to be in the Cauldron," Batgirl stammered, evidently in shock at what had just happened.

"Let's go," Batman barked. He fired his grappled and flew off. After a moment, the other joined in pursuit.

…

The Gem temple house, despite not being in use, still had its lights on. At night, that sort of situation attracted all kinds of attention. Including the attention of a massive, pink-haired Lion.

Lion has waited for Steven to play with him all day, even sleeping some hours to get rest. But his master had not come. Not had any of the other Gems, which wasn't normal. And now they were gone. To Lion, that meant something was wrong.

Suddenly, a new feeling seized the animal. He could feel where they had gone. It was scary and far-off, and it made no sense as to why they were there. But they needed his help, which was the only thing that mattered.

Stretching out on all fours, Lion took off faster than he's ever vaulted. Just before he collided with the water, the massive feline released a powerful roar. The resulting shock wave created a glowing pink portal, and he proceeded to vault into it without any second thoughts.

The portal disappeared moments later, and with it Lion himself. All that was left was a quiet beach, a rippling night ocean…

And a lion going to save his master.

 **And that's a wrap! Next chapter, I introduce the rest of the Detective team, and then we prep for one heck of a fight!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Sorry it took a while! Work and school and Stranger Things 2! But anyways, new chapter! Before I start, there's some reviews I want to address;**

 **Dredd2012: Thanks! For the answer, read this chapter.**

 **Whiskey Wu: Thank you! I don't know about Batman riding Lion, but I can confirm there is something special in the works for him and the Gems. And Garnet's fate is here.**

 **Shian1998: Thank you, the answer is in this chapter.**

 **AntiSocialBookWorm: Thank you! I'm going to finish this fic eventually, so kudos for the kind words!**

 **And without further ado, Chapter Five!**

What had once been a building in the Cauldron was now a combination of smoldering debris and ruins of charred brick. Surrounding places were torched, wrecked, or had sustained some forms of damage. It was going to take some serious work to repair the fallout.

Underneath the wreckage, a sound could be heard. It was small, but growing at a rapid pace. Debris cracked as a pink bubble of energy erupted, sending the loose dirt flying in all directions. The bubble expanded until no more wreckage covered it, and only then did it contract into nothingness. Held under it's now gone protection was the Gems, looking bruised but otherwise fine. Connie peeked out from the spot they were centered on, her eyes flickering over the destruction.

She turned to Steven. "Steven…did you do that on purpose?"

"I…don't know," he replied. He was at a loss for words. "I saw Garnet going for the bomb, and I…I didn't want her to get hurt!" He stared and the ground, looking in defeat. Tears were on the cusp of forming in his eyes when a small rumble was heard. All of the Gems turned to a small mountain of rubble nearby. A second passed, then the pile exploded in nothing, and standing there was the one and only Garnet. Sure, she had some cracks on her form and some hefty bruises, but it was her for sure.

"Garnet!" Pearl cried. She ran forward and grabbed her leader into a hug. "I thought you were gone!"

The purple-skinned Gem smiled. "Afraid not," she replied. "However, I appreciate the concern."

Lapis stepped forward. "What happened to Wrath?"

"Oh, him?" Garnet turned to the pile and reached a hand in. As she brought it back, her fingers slid the unconscious body of Wrath onto the floor. His helmet was cracked, and in addition to the numerous exposed spots now littering his armor, the villain's cape was burnt, most likely from the blast. He looked worse than ever, as if karma had come back to get what it deserved.

"He survived?" Peridot exclaimed.

"How?" Amethyst questioned.

Garnet sighed. "When the explosion happened, I tried containing the blast. Somehow, the next thing I knew, I woke and felt Wrath in the rubble. Then I heard you lot." She surveyed the room with her specs, noticing the extent of the blast. "Where are all of his men?"

"I…I don't think they made it," Pearl said. She gripped her spear tighter after saying this.

"That's sick," said Connie. "To do that to his own soldiers…"

All of the Gems did not speak for a few moments. Truly, it was disheartening knowing what had happened, that someone would kill their own allies to secure victory. It seemed something Homeworld might be capable of. The whole audacity of it… Then a thought came to Steven's mind.

"Garnet?" He asked, "where's the container?"

The Gem suddenly realized it too and looked down at Wrath, but the small tube was exempt from his body. "Darn! It had to be here."

"Unless Homeworld invents walking tubes," Connie interjected," it's probable that the fire destroyed it."

Before anyone else could respond, a high-pitched sound flooded their ears. It wailed and screamed like a hurt child, and that was when everyone realized it was the police siren. The group made their way to the outskirts of the wreckage and glimpsed the massive crowd of police. Six GCPD cruisers were lined up outside the building, a pack of officers leveling their weapons at the warriors. Smack dab in the canter was Renee Montoya and her overweight partner, Harvey Bullock. The seasoned cop didn't flinch as she trained her pistol, but then upon seeing the familiar figures, her eyes widened in surprise.

"This is the police!" A nearby sergeant yelled. "Put your hands up and surrender now!"

"We didn't do this!" Amethyst said. "It was that Wrath guy!"

"Yeah, right," Bullock scoffed with a cigarette in his mouth. "You clowns were found at the scene of a bombing, which makes you pretty suspicious."

Garnet took a step down, not wavering in her cold glare. "I'm going to only say this once," the Gem leader barked. "We didn't do this, and we aren't involved. Let us pass, and nothing bad will happen. Prevent that, and you'll regret it."

Several police officers cocked their guns in response to this. "Fire!" yelled a trigger-happy officer.

Right as the bullets went flying, a sudden shockwave of energy rippled into existence. The officers and Gems were thrown into disarray as a shape began to take form. Steven stared in shock, seeing a silhouette of pink color merge and stand above him, leaving the furry form of Lion.

"L-Lion?" He gulped in surprise. The giant cat simply growled and bent to nuzzle his master affectionately. The rest of the Gems were taken aback by this event.

"That furry clod found us?" Peridot exclaimed. "How?"

"Questions later!" Connie commanded. "Steven, can you get Lion to help us escape?"

"I'll try!" He exclaimed. "Lion, can you get us out of here?"

The giant Lion looked at them all and then growled loudly, his eyes glowing pink in the process. Before the cops could fully collect themselves, he roared again and a massive pink portal spiraled into the space in front of them. He then looked back and the Gems and nodded, indicating they should go there.

"Cmon!" Steven yelled. The Gems ran to the portal, disappearing into the spiral and away from the danger. Once Steven and Lion had gone through it as well, the gateway ceased to exist, leaving a group of confused cops in their wake.

Harvey stared numbly. "Okay, the hell was that?"

Renee inched closer with her gun and saw no sign of the portal or the Gems left in their absence. "I honestly don't know, Harvey," she replied. The cop whipped out her cell phone and called the one person she trusted to confide in about this.

If she'd been paying attention, Renee would've understood that four shadows were watching the scene from a building away. They soon disappeared from their vantage point, leaving the cold air to circulate once more.

...

Located outside of Robinson Park was a fairly successful and small business called Batburger. Similar to other fast food chains in menu and quality, this restaurant has one thing the others didn't: a dedication to Batman. The food was named after his allies and enemies, fries could be "jokerized," and action figures were a popular commodity. It was a surprise that the place wasn't bombed by enemies of the vigilante already.

Inside the glass windows and colorful walls, a party of five people was enjoying their meals in the back of the place. A quiet young woman with short black hair stared at her food in an awakened silence. Her friend, a man with a stiff frame and thick brown hair, attempted to tell her a joke. Opposite them, a well-dressed Caucasian man with glasses lectured his dark-skinned companions about the food. Kate Kane sat in the middle of their debate, clearly bored and already full from her meal.

"I'm just saying, Jean-Paul," Luke Fox replied, "there's nothing wrong with getting recognition at places like this."

Jean-Paul turned to his food, which was a heavy dosing of the Ivy Salad. "I am content with myself, Lucas," the religious follower stated. "Being Azrael is enough already, fame is but an unnecessary byproduct."

Basil chuckled and turned the mush that was his Clayface mud plate into a bite-sized display. It made sense for the reforming villain to be humored by a dish inspired by himself. "Hey, at least Batburger had something about me. Y'know, with a little less clay in it."

Cassandra turned and smiled at the comment. "Funny."

Basil smirked at this. "Kid, I bet they could do one for you, too." He held out his hands as if he was reciting a famous play. "Orphan Fries, silent but deadly." This got a giggle out of her, which was well worth the effort.

"I don't know about fries," Luke said. "Hmm…what about an action figure? Red Hood doesn't have to be the only one people get here."

Kate rolled her eyes and checked the time. It was nearing 8:45. They'd better get back to the Belfry soon and do some training. After all, with the problems plaguing the world these days, you needed to be prepped for anything.

Especially calls from your ex.

Kate's phone buzzed excitedly. Reaching for it, she got Luke to let her out do the booth. "Be right back," she told the gang and then headed into the women's bathroom. The military vet found a toilet stall, closed the door, and sat down to take the call. "Renee? What's up?"

"Kate," Renee said on the other end of the line. Her tone was dead serious. "Something…weird just happened."

"Explain."

Renee took a deep breath before continuing. "I was walking in City Square a couple hours ago, and I accidentally bumped into this kid. I apologized to his family, but they were…off. They didn't look like they were from around here, and I don't mean just Gotham."

"You're ticked off by a wierd-looking family?" Kate said, puzzled.

"No, not that," Renee said. "An hour later, we got this call about an explosion in the Cauldron. When me, Harvey, and some others arrived on the scene, we found the family – in addition to some others – standing right where the blast occurred. And then something crazy happened; this pink lion came out of nowhere, made a portal with a roar, and helped them all escape."

"Renee, that sounds like something out of a kid's tv show," Kate replied skeptically.

"It really happened, Kate," Renee said. "Half the cruisers were damaged by his roar in the process."

The vigilante couldn't deny that. "Okay, we'll look into it. You just keep safe, okay?"

"Thanks." Renee hung up after that.

Kate began to circle back to the table, where everyone looked at her. "Team, there's a case we need to-"

Suddenly, everyone's phones vibrated at the same time. Luke pulled his up first and saw that it was a red Bat glowing intensely. "Omega?" He said in surprise.

"Lets find out," Jean-Paul said as he answered it and put it next to his ear. Luke, Kate, and the other two did the same.

"Team, we have a problem," Batman's thick voice stated.

"Besides Joker?" Basil quipped.

"Yes," said Batman. "Me, Robin, Batgirl, and Nightwing came upon the scene of an attack of some sort in the Cauldron. We witnessed some metahuman characters there."

"And let me guess," Kate interjected, "they ended up escaping thanks to a pink lion."

"How did you know that?" Luke asked.

"Renee just called," Kate said. "Apparently, the GCPD was involved."

"We need to find out who these people are and what they are intending," Batman said. "Meet me at the Belfry in half an hour. Less would be better." He then hung up.

Everyone put their phone down. Kate shot Luke a look. "Luke, can you track them?"

"Already on it," the tech billionaire stated. He played around in his iPhone for a bit before putting it on the table. On the screen was a blue app that had multiple energy readings spread throughout. "Designed this puppy myself. It's tracking the unique energy signature these people were giving off around the blast site. If my data is right, it can pinpoint wherever they appear next."

"And how are you tracking them?" Basil asked.

"With my trusty Foxtech satellite, of course." Luke said smoothly.

"Cool," said Cass.

Th phone pinged, picturing everybody's interest. Luke snatched it and moved his fingers for a bit. A second or two passed, then he looked at the others. "I know where they are."

"Then we haven't got a moment to lose," said Kate. She grabbed her jacket and started walking away. "Come on."

Everyone shuffled out of the booth quickly. Basil was the last to go, looking longingly at his food. After a quick thought, he decided he could do without the mud plate and promptly left.

...

The Gems stood on top of a wide rooftop, somewhere in the middle of the hectic city. Police cars whooshed by on the ground hundreds of feet beneath them, while the cold air brushed against them as if they were scarecrows.

Garnet glanced at her group. Pearl and Amethyst were prepping their weapons, Lapis was looking at the city from the rooftop's edge, and the others were sulking. Things felt so depressing, even Garnet was beginning to doubt herself.

 _What am I supposed to do?_ She thought. _The container is gone, we're in a city we know nothing about, and now the police are after us. It's like this world hates us for who we are._

A small weight pressed against her hip. She looked down to see Steven looking up at her intently. His eyes were full of fire and he didn't seem too upset.

"Garnet," he said, "we've got to keep trying. I know that If we do, we'll get home."

The Gem Leader smiled. "That's the spirit, Steven. I-"

"Garnet?"

She could not talk, for suddenly she felt something. Her future vision has splintered into a wave of panic, a cracked canvas she could barely fathom. In it, she saw something dark coming towards her, and it wasn't alone.

"Everyone! Get ready!"

The others looked to her with worry and got closer. "Garnet," what's up?" Connie asked innocently.

"Were about to find out," a cool and dark voice said. Garnet spun to see the shadowy figure of Batman on the other side of the roof, joined by figures of color and black, forming a small crowd with him.

"Gems," Garnet breathed. The rest understood and produced their weapons. Steven and Connie held their hands closer than ever, pressing to emphasize their protection of each other.

They were two sides, both standing for justice. But in this awkward form of a situation, they looked like respective enemies.

It was time to settle that.

 **Wow! That was fun to write. Before you ask, yes, Batburger is real. It's a real restaurant in the comics they just introduced in Batman #16 (the current Tom King run). The character dynamics and stuff here is fun to work with. Trust me, next chapter is going to have one HELL of a fight.**

 **Also, I have somewhat of a big announcement here. Anybody ho knows me knows I'm writing this and Astonishing Ant-Aunt. However, with school and work and other things, and the desire to work on other stories once I finish this and that, I need to focus. From now on, I'll be just doing this story for a while so I can focus on completing it more. Ant-Aunt is by NO means dead. It will continue, I'm just taking a bigger break than usual on it. Just FYI.**

 **Please review! They are great to hear.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey all! Been some time, so here's the new chapter. First, I want to give a thank you to Whiskey Wu, Shian1998, and Dredd2012- your reviews were touching. Thanks to everyone who's following this story now. If you want, review and give comments or criticism. Now, onto the new chapter!**

The nine vigilantes faced the Crystal Gems solemnly, and the cold air blew against both sides all the while. Batman was the first to talk, his voice constrained in a hard way that spared no urgency.

"Why did you bomb the Cauldron? Who are you?" He spat.

Garnet looked perturbed at the comment. "We didn't bomb it," she said. "We were at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Lapis stepped behind her. "Yeah. Besides, we were fighting some guy named Wrath. He was the one to blow it up."

Batwoman didn't look convinced, which could be from her being Batman's cousin. "You appear out of thin air and expect us to believe your word? Why should we?"

"Look, we-" Connie began, but she was rudely interrupted by an angry Peridot.

"We told you clods, we didn't do it!" She exclaimed with irritation. "Besides, you couldn't take us down if you tried."

Steven looked at Connie, sharing a look of alarm at the comment. She must've been thinking the same thing because this remark caught Robin's attention.

"Oh, really?" He snidely said, unsheathing his katana in a glorifying but quick way. The sword went down to his side, barely capturing the light of the nearby buildings in its stroke. "And what can you do that over-qualifies you?"

"This," Peridot said. She reached out a hand and crumpled it. Immediately, the sword wriggled in Robin's grip. He attempted to control it, but the force pressing inwards shot it into the air, and then circled back to the ground several feet in front of him. The impact shook the once cocky child, causing him to glare daggers at the diminutive gem. Garnet shot her a look of contempt.

"Peridot, no!"

"Whoa," remarked Batwing.

Batman and the rest of the team rebounded to this movement. There was no denying that the small display of power had fully alerted everyone. "Team, take them down," he barked through gritted teeth.

Garnet readied her dusts instinctively. "Gems, on the defensive!"

It was like a painting of literally fighting colors. Gems ran into the knights, going for one-on-one fights. Opposites collided and parallels clashed, all the while not knowing there was a misunderstanding too great having caused this in the first place.

Amethyst bounded towards Batgirl, swirling her whip at the teenager. She managed to dodge it before producing a batatrang, which, unsurprisingly, Amethyst also dodged.

"Bad aim," Amethyst remarked.

"Oh, come on," Batgirl said. "Your whip fell too."

"Yeah, but at least I-hey!" Amethyst struggled to break free of a grapple line Batgirl had conjured up during her retort. Unable to move, the Gem fell to Batgirl's feet.

"I wouldn't move if I were you," Batgirl remarked. "That rope gets tighter the more you move."

"Oh, yeah?" Amethyst challenged. Her face looked like it was intensely pissed off when her body glowed. The crime-fighter was forced to cover her eyes, in awe at the massive shape breaking out of Amethyst's trap. As the ropes snapped, Batgirl stared in shock at the purple-skinned and larger Gem standing there.

"Wrestling time, stinker!" She challenged before launching herself towards her.

Nearby, Peridot was dodging – narrowly – a series of concussive blasts from Batwing, who was flying several feet over her. Almost running off the edge of the building, Peridot stopped and turned to face the now hovering vigilante. "Leave me alone, clod!"

"No offense, but you did start this fight," Batwing remarked. "All we want is for you guys to surrender. Easy and simple."

"Get bent, clod!" shouted Peridot. She reached up both hands, straining in her effort. After several seconds, nothing happened. Batwing simple coughed and raised a repulsive hand.

"Sorry, but- hey!" Batwing's speech was interrupted as his metal armor swerved in a circle. He wailed due to not being able to control it properly, Peridot gleefully knowing her powers had worked. She brought her hand down and the armored hero slammed down into the rooftop. A small, hurt sigh was heard underneath the metal.

"Leave him alone!" A raspy voice called out. Peridot saw and narrowly avoided the fiery blade of Azrael, colored in dark red and gold, his hood covering his haunting and angered mask. He stood instinctively over his friend, trying to shield him from the enemy. "Per god's will, you won't harm my friend."

"Really?" Once again, Peridot held out her hands. This time, however, she didn't feel the familiar sensation. His costume had no metal she could manipulate. A look of horror stretched across her once victorious face. "Oh, crap."

"Right you are," Azrael deadpanned. He unsheathed both his fire swords and ran full speed at her. Peridot bolted away from him, faster than she'd ever done before and hoping to survive.

"Stand still," Pearl shouted. Across the rooftop, she swung her trident dangerously at Orphan. The silent but deadly fighter simply somersaulted into the air, landing on her feet and making a defensive stance. "Honestly, how are you this good?"

"Practice," breathed the ninja girl. She ran towards the Gem warrior with incredible speed, them stopped and ducked. As Pearl looked at her, the dark-colored warrior pinched her in three spots. Her enemy groaned and slowly collapsed to the ground. Orphan soon stood victoriously over her.

"Ungghhh…." Pearl moaned, trying to move, but finding no success.

Orphan looked over to the battle ensuing between the boy in the red shirt and Robin. Damian has since regained his katana and was swinging lay it wildly at the Steven, whose pink shield protected his from the dangerous parries. As the two boys moved back to the rear of the rooftop, the latter got more frustrated.

"Leave us alone!" Steven shouted. "We didn't do anything wrong!"

"In my book, fiddling around with my sword is wrong enough!" commented Robin. He gripped a birdarang from his belt, aimed it, and sent it swirling at Steven. The boy had barely a second to react before the explosive knocked him onto the ground, his shield cluttering onto it as well. Standing with the sword at arm's length, Robin moved closer. "Surrender, idiot."

Steven faces him with brave eyes, and the young vigilante swore he saw them sparkle. "No."

"Hey! Leave him alone!" A sudden shadow passed between them, punching Robin and whipping out a pink sword. It was Connie, fiercely defending her friend and standing opposed to their enemy. As she helped Steven up, Robin massaged his jaw with an incredulous expression.

"You…how dare-"

"Yeah, I do," Connie stated. "Lets go, Steven!"

The two children took off running, seeing their various allies clashing with the vigilantes. They soon reached several feet from where Lapis was having a go at Clayface, summoning gusts of water towards him. In his defense, the former actor has dodged most of her blasts, though some of his mud was dripping wet at this point.

"Look, kid," Clayface said," let's just stop before somebody gets hurt."

"Yeah - you!" Lapis responded. She groaned while shooting a massive bubble towards him. It exploded directly at his chest, sending pieces of mud splattering onto the hard surface of the roof. His managed to support himself with a massive hand, but it was plain that the blow had been devastating and would take some recovery.

"Hhhnnh…good shot," he quipped, his body reforming steadily. "Lets see how you like swords." Two arms of mud sprouted from the massive being, morphing and twisting until they resembled long appendages with swords for hands. The two arms stretched quickly towards her in an attempt to catch her off guard. Before they got there, Connie leapt forward and sliced one in half with her pink blade, leaving the clay to plop lifelessly to the ground. Steven ran in front too, opening a bubble that cut off the creation from him.

"Leave her alone! You'll have to go through us!" They exclaimed.

It looked like the battle was about to go on further when a swift shape ran and rammed Clayface to the side. It was Lion, who now had a darker look upon his face. He bit into the clay man, swiped his claws, and kicked around his mushy body savagely. He tried reforming, but Lion looked him right in the face and emitted a pink roar. The blast scattered his clay everywhere, leaving nothing but a scorch mark on the ground. The animal took some deep breaths before turning to his companions, who looked elated at seeing him.

"Lion!" exclaimed Steven. "Great job!" He ran forward and petted his favorite animal, which purred happily. The moment was cut short, however, by the abrupt shout from Connie.

"Look out!"

Steven found himself knocked some feet away, looking up in time to see Lion crumple to the ground. Nightwing stood above him, holding a taser dart gun and looking at the rest of the them. "Y'know, a part of me feels like PETA is going to get riled up by this."

"Lion!"

Nightwing turned and saw Steven, then looked at the gun and tossed it. He walked cautiously closer to him, getting down on his level. Steven backed away as much as he could. "You…you jerk!"

Nightwing's eyes lowered in guilt. "Look, kid. My name's Nightwing. We're only trying to understand what's going on here, and we need you guys to slow down if we're going to do that." He spared a glance at the unconscious Lion as he said this. "Please."

What Nightwing said made some sense, but Steven didn't fully trust him. How could he tase Lion? It was…

"I'm sorry," said Steven, "but no."

Nightwing opened his mouth to respond, but whatever he could've said was blocked out by a scream from nearby. Both saw Peridot, yelling in terror, running away from Azrael's fiery blades. In the confusion, Steven pulled himself up and ran to Connie.

"Connie, we have to find Garnet!" He said. "Things are getting worse!"

"Over there!" She pointed a finger towards the other edge of the rooftop. Both children looked that way and saw what was a literal clash of titans. Standing in the corner were Batman and Garnet, exchanging looks with enough venom to level a city block. Bruises and broken bones were apparent; a gush of blood stained from the dark knight's lip, and Garnet's multicolor specs were cracked halfway through. The only conclusion was that they'd been at it for a while.

"Ready to give up yet?" breathed Garnet.

In response, Batman simply wiped the blood from his lip and gave her the same deadpanned look. No weakness showed from his face. "Not until you're locked up."

"You're welcome to try," Garnet quipped. She readied her fists into a fighting position, then ran at full speed towards him. Batman prepped two shock batarangs and threw them at her. One missed while another scraped her arm with energy. Garnet didn't slow down, however, leaping high before crashing right into the roof's exterior.

The shockwave sent Batman tumbling back, but not too far away. He faulted forward and manages to land a heavy kick to her chest, leading Garnet to nearby fall down. The blow only seemed to inspire her more, as the fierce Gem swung a trio of punches at him. The punches brazed his chest and figure, but as the third one nearly hit, he grabbed her arm and attached a small device. Waves of electricity surged through Garnet, reaching through her screams as she fell. Batman simply stood over her, his gaze still cold as ever.

"That's 300 volts of electricity," he said. ""I only carry it for special situations. It won't kill you, but it'll be enough to keep you cooperative until you get to Arkham."

Nightwing suddenly appeared at his shoulder. "Status?" The dark knight asked.

"Most of them have been taken down," replied Nightwing. "A few stragglers. But nothing we can't handle."

Steven's eyed widened as he looked back upon the rest of his allies. Amethyst was fighting Batgirl, Pearl was unconscious and on the ground, and Peridot was still running from Azrael. And then there was Lion, lying asleep and not of his own will. Could things get any worse?

They could, for Steven, Connie, and Lapis saw all of the other vigilantes gather around them. A circle soon formed, and there looked to be no way out. Nightwing stepped forward to give one last chance. "Sorry to say it, but your team isn't exactly winning. Maybe you could surrender…"

"No," declared Connie. Immediately, she gripped Steven's hand and held tight. He looked at her, and a certain energy somehow found its way to both of them. As it expanded, a faint glow grew and enveloped the two. Lapis and the vigilantes had to cover their faces so not to be blinded

"What the heck?" She exclaimed.

The glow rescinded, and everyone took their hand away to see a truly shocking sight. In the place of the two was one person. They were an androgynous teenage, dark skin and darker hair with a red star shirt and blue shorts. Their exposed belly showed a pink gem, and lumped in their hand was the sharp pink sword of Rose Quartz. They faced the vigilantes with a determination of both.

"My name is Stevonnie," they said clearly, "and me and my friends are leaving."

With that, they bolted straight at them. Nightwing and Batgirl mobilized to stop them, but the nimble warrior blocked their blows with the ruby sword. Stevonnie held out their hands to create two bubbles that immediately captured the twin vigilantes. They pounded upon the pink walls, but nothing happened. No longer bothered by them, the fusion vaulted towards the other heroes. To everyone's surprise, they jumped over Batman and landed directly next to Lion.

Bending down, Stevonnie said, "Lion, wake up. I need you." They placed a tender hand on Lion, which glowed pinkly for a second. Lions' eyes glowed a fierce magenta as he got up and bellowed softly. Both now turned to the others, who were still lying on the ground.

"Whoa…I can sense something," Stevonnie commented. "It's…an energy. Yes, we can do this." They turned to Lion and nodded, a motion which the animal repeated. Somehow, energy surrounded them like lightbulbs coursing with electricity. Their glow soon appeared onto the other Gems – unconscious or awake. Batman held up a hand to shield his face, but his trademark scowl was still there.

"What is this?" He demanded.

Stevonnie turned to the dark knight completely glowing and smiled. "A goodbye…for now." The power spiked once more before the Gems and Lion disappeared in a brilliant flash of light. The rooftop returned to its normal dark outline, bruised vigilantes scattered and heat marks everywhere.

Batwing, who had several dents in his dark-colored armor, walked slowly to the others. "Okay…what the hell just happened?"

"Something we can't explain," Batwoman explained. Her eye scanned the battlefield and stopped right near her feet. Bending down, her fingers grasped onto a pink strand of feline hair. It had to have been from the alien cat. Maybe it had answers they desperately needed.

 _Who were those people?_ She thought to herself.

Hazy smoked filtered into her perspective. Heavens, this wasn't the temple, nor was it Homeworld. It was some kind of human…environment. Litter and smoking cans were located everywhere. If only the Diamonds could see it now…they were definitely more clean than this.

Emerald gripped onto a nearby pole and started walking, feeling the weight of her bruised frame as she did so. The Crystal Gems has really done a number on her, but she'd survived. That was what mattered. And the container…

Sudden worry registered in her mind as she realized it wasn't on her. The warrior looked across the alley to find it, but found no results. Frustration built and she proceeded to punch a nearby wall, the bricks cracking as a result. _No!_ She mentally roared. _They have no idea of how important it is! The canister holds the future to my plans, and Homeworld's…if only they knew of what it was..._

"Yo, Lady," a voice resonated from behind her.

Emerald swerved around to find three tall, well-built men in black jackets and wearing brown, roughed-up masks. There were stitch-marks present in the felt, while twin yellow eyes hinted at malicious intent.

"You want to prove you're fearless, tough stuff?" The one on the right barked. He prepared some sort of gun, filled with a strange green gas canister.

A smile cracked across her face. "Definitely."

At the comment, all three aimed their guns and shot a green chemical from them. While the mist overtook Emerald, they calmly stood there, as if expecting her to not survive it. Needless to say, they were the ones shocked when the villain walked out of the cloud like it was nothing.

"You made quite the mistake, vermin," Emerald hissed. Both blades retracted from her wrists, she leapt forward and slashed precisely at their masks. Once exposed cracks appeared, she then cut their guns in half with the edge of her blades. The henchmen's own weapon has turned against them and left them suffocating on the ground in terror. One screamed, another dropped in fright, and a third begged in complete cowardice.

"No!"

"Please, I'll do anything…"

"Fascinating," commented Emerald. She circled the men and watched their traumas like they were works of art. "This gas psychologically harmed these humans, leaving them physically normal, but ravaged in the mind. I wonder why it has no effect on myself?"

"A strange question, indeed," a cackling voice interjected. Emerald's eyes wandered to a lank, awkward man standing right behind his men on the ground. His arms and clothes were covered in a dark green color, a straw noose around his neck, and a ravaged straw mask covering his face. Besides the cuts and cracks in it, one could see two demented eyes looking out.

Emerald leveled a blade at him. "Who are you?"

"My apologies," He croaked in a creepy voice. "I'm known as the Scarecrow, a doctor that breeds fear."

"And I should care why?"

"Because you're immune to my fear toxin," he stated. "It turns your worst thoughts upon you, flooding you in your own doubts and worries. But for some reason, you can handle it." He reaches out a small but straw-covered hand towards her. "You can help me improve my methods, and potentially make the gas better."

Emerald eyed his hand with contempt. "I don't work with tiny humans like yourself." She began walking away without a care in the world.

"Are you looking for some odd people, by chance? Or a container?"

His words struck her. "What do you know about it?" She breathed heavily.

Scarecrow's eyes betrayed the glee in his hidden face. "I may have seen them several hours ago…and looking for some item of value. Friends of yours?"

Emerald walked to him, extending a blade and holding it at his throat. "I could kill you right now..,"

"But you won't," Scarecrow cackled. "I know where to find someone who knows where they are. Better yet, there's a friend of mine who could help with your…situation." The mad villain extended a lank hand. "What do you say? Help me, and I'll help you."

After a moment, Emerald's green face smirked coldly. "Agreed."

 **In essence, this chapter was kind of like...the end of act 1 of this story. I'm thinking it'll be made up of three arcs of six chapters, or a little less. Next chapter, we'll see the story progress on the fronts of both sides. Til' next time, and please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Post-Thanksgiving surprise! I managed to write this out quickly. But first, my responses to reviews.**

 **Dredd2012: Thank you!**

 **Shian1998: Thanks! If you want to know what happens next, see the end of this chapter. Next chapter gets the ball rolling, too.**

 **Guest: Thanks! Yeah, writing the fight was hard. I got that the Gems were great fighters, but so were the Bat-family, so you'd have to balance it out at points.**

 **Whiskey Wu: Thank you for the kind words.**

 **Now, for chapter seven!**

The Lady of Gotham was a historic landmark of the once-great city. Its sturdy green color and magnificent scale kept it above the dour skyscrapers and long night fog, elevating some semblance of hope to the citizens held down by crime. Unfortunately, nobody had really visited it in years, and due to lazy maintenance and cutbacks from city hall, there hadn't been a lot of progress on revitalizing viewership towards it.

Until six Gems and a giant pink lion fell out of a glowing portal and landed at its feet.

As the dust scattered, Peridot looked up and glimpsed the magnificent green woman with a sword and eagle in her hands. Her eyes widened in awe. "Giant woman," she said.

"More like statue," Lapis wisecracked. She dusted herself off a bit, irritability. "Ugh, is she blind or something?"

"I don't know," Pearl said. "Must be something to do with justice."

Stevonnie collapsed to the ground before a familiar white outline encircled them. When the glow faded, Steven and Connie reappeared separately and next to each other. Garnet walked towards them sternly. "What was that?" she asked.

Connie massaged her head gingerly. "I…don't know. It was like we were filled with this…power."

"We never did anything like that before," Steven added. "This power…it was like flooding us, pushing us in ways we never thought of before."

"Hmmm," Garnet replied. She held her hand to her head in a thoughtful pose while her specs gazed upon the imposing statue. "First we wind up in a different world, then we fight the apparent heroes of this city, and eventually Stevonnie teleports us away with power never seen before. How odd."

"We should get back at those clods!" Peridot demanded, her face scowling. "They nearly kicked our butts!"

"Uh, you mean your butt, Peri," pointed out Amethyst with a hint of sarcasm. "Wasn't that dude with the flaming sword chasing you all over?"

"Ugh!" Peridot shouted angrily.

"Enough!"

Garnet stood in the middle of the group, unmozing as stone. "I know that the fight didn't go our way, but right now we need to focus on what's important."

"The container," gasped Pearl.

"Right. If we want to get back home, we need to find it."

"Are you saying we should go back to that section of Gotham?" Connie said. "I don't know if it's safe anymore there, especially if the cops are still there. Plus, Lion's exhausted." She pointed a finger at the enormous pink cat, who was curled on the ground and snoring peacefully.

"Not exactly…" Garnet replied. "We can talk to Batman."

"Are you nuts?" Amethyst said. "That guy tried to bulldoze us! He's bad news!"

Garnet readjusted her specs and turned to the others. "He didn't try to 'bulldoze' us, he thought we were a threat. Given the situation we were in, not to mention the lack of an explanation we had, it's somewhat understandable."

She walked closer to the statue before putting a hand upon the fading green concrete. After a second of connection, she got collected again. "Like It or not, we owe it to ourselves to try to get home. And the only way my future vision says to do that is by finding Batman."

"How do you expect to do that?" Lapis asked.

"I know!" Connie exclaimed. When everyone turned to her, her face lit up. "We can use the Bat-Signal!"

"Bat-Signal?" Peridot questioned, obviously confused with the rest of them.

"I saw it on the internet," elaborated Connie. "It's a signal the GCPD puts into the sky when they want to talk with Batman."

"And where is that?" Steven asked.

"On top of the GCPD building, center of town."

"Won't that be protected?" Pearl commented. "It might not be safe."

"I'll go," Garnet stated firmly. "We need at least someone to get through, and if it goes south, you'll all be alright."

"Good luck, Garnet," Steven said. He waived a small hand in support, one she smiled back at.

"Thanks," And with that, the leader of the Crystal Gems turned and ran. A small cloud of dust settled into the night atmosphere in her wake, and the rest of them were left hoping for a better outcome sooner than later.

…

The Belfry's main entrance hall was in full session. The round-table was out and the seats taken by Batman, Nightwing, Azrael, and Batwoman. Batwing was busy analyzing holograms of the hair strand close by, while Clayface, Robin, and the others stood and watched silently.

"Any ideas about who those yahoos were?" Nightwing pondered.

Azrael linked his fingers together in a calculative move. "In all honesty, these figures seemed different. They did not act like your normal criminal. And based on their motives, sounded territorial."

Batman's eyes were slotted in stone-cold concentration. "The GCPD found an unconscious Wrath after the figures left the Cauldron."

"So you'd have to reason that maybe they weren't the bombers in the first place," Batwoman suggested. "Luke, what do you have?"

Batwing, having been preoccupied with the diagrams floating digitally in the air, turned her way. "Something really weird. You might want to pull up, Kate." His metallic fingers pulled the diagram apart until it became larger, and as Batwoman neared it, she saw that multiple pictures of hair strands were pulled up.

"This hair…well, it is from a lion. But the weird thing is that it's not acting like normal hair. You see, the hair of any living mammal is made of linked keratin strands which connect to the skin. But this strand of hair- it's like it's pulsing with energy."

"That might explain how Pinkie was able to beat me," Clayface cracked. "Oh, what a world!"

Brushing off his humor, Batgirl folded her arms and began thinking. "So, this Lion – maybe he's a mutant? Maybe that's what they all are."

"You're not getting it, Babs," Luke replied. "The energy coming from this strand of fur isn't something you can find in normal science. Gamma rays, x-rays, dark matter – it's none of that."

"So that leaves only one option," Batman stated bluntly. "They're aliens."

"Really?" Robin stated. "If they're aliens, why would they be here now?"

"I-" Batman was cut off by a loud, red beeping sound. The main computers on the far-off side of the room pulsated with bright black letters, BAT-SIGNAL ONLINE. Soon after, the familiar outline of the Bat-signal appeared in the black Gotham sky. Everyone's eyes were drawn to it like a flame attracting moths, but Batman's were still narrowed.

"I have to go," Batman said. He got up and neared the entrance hall's elevator.

"At least let one of us come with you," Nightwing said.

"Agreed," Batwoman stated. "We don't know if Gordon's going to talk about our 'friends' tonight, and I'd rather be safe than sorry."

Batman sighed and turned to the elevator, pushing the button. "Fine. Robin, let's go."

"Yes, father." Robin darted after him and managed to slip inside the elevator before the doors began to close. Once they disappeared downwards, silence encircled the room.

"Quite the dramatic exit, eh?" Clayface quipped.

"Dude," Nightwing said, "That just isn't good."

…

In at least ten minutes, Batman and Robin had grappled some ways to a perch away from the large GCPD building. Above the dozens of floors and sparkling yellow windows was a hefty rooftop with exhaust pipes blowing steam into the cold night, old crumbling bricks, and a large searchlight perched towards the coastline. A bat symbol had been built into the strobe and was currently still shining the yellow and black logo into the clouds.

The dynamic duo launched their hooks and swung over, landing in the nick of time on the stone railing overlooking the gap between buildings. Robin stuffed his hook in his belt, while Batman still held his cautiously. His senses were hinting at something being off.

"Jim, what's up?" he called to the open air.

To the surprise of both, the bat-signal suddenly turned off. Once the searchlight was decommissioned, a slender but bulky woman stepped out. The light shone on her, and instantly they recognized her as the person they'd fought from before.

"What are you doing here?" Batman asked coldly. His mind was already telling his hands to reach for the batarangs near his hip.

Garnet held up her hands in defense. "Reaching out. I didn't come to fight again."

Robin took a step further, betraying the arrogance in his voice as he said, "Then why are you here?"

It took all of the fusion's effort to say, calmly and slowly, what she wanted to get through. "I need your help."


	8. Chapter 8

**Salutations, true believers! Sorry for taking so long, but finals and snow are headed my way. The good news is that after seeing "The Shape of Water" today, I'm back and more energized than ever to do stories. I think I'll be able to clock out a couple more stories before 2018, as well as a Christmas surprise! Anyways, here's the response to last chapter!**

 **Dredd2012: Thanks! You're a constant reviewer!**

 **AntiSocialBookWorm: Thanks! It's nice to be recognized for my effort. As for the conversation between heroes, well...**

 **Shian1998: Thank you. Yes, things will get better!**

 **Last thing, but Garnet and Batman's conversation will actually be next chapter. Sorry. This one is focused on our villainess Emerald. All in good time!**

 **And without further ado, Chapter 8!**

"What is this place?" Emerald asked rudely, as if wanting to tick off her 'friend.'

"A simple place of leisure," cackled Scarecrow. He beckoned towards their destination on the ocean in front of them: a massive building partially encased in a large iceberg. White windows showed through ice and the night sky peppered its shadows everywhere. Several ships were docked next to the entrance, which looked packed and full of guests."The Iceberg Lounge, my dear. Let's hurry, we don't want to keep our friends waiting."

Scarecrow turned back to the controls, letting Emerald view the ocean as their small boat rippled through its waves in a flash. Part of her didn't trust Scarecrow, and that made sense. However, she felt that if he truly did have an inkling of where the container was, whatever he was offering must be worth it.

 _For Homeworld_ , she thought.

The boat finally stopped at the Iceberg Lounge, but not the same entrance the public was utilizing. They'd arrived at a dark corner of the pier where two women in short black leather were standing like immovable sentinels. Unintimidated, Emerald got out and followed the mad scientist as he meandered to the guards.

"Hello, Ladies," said Scarecrow. He gave them a little bow as he said it. "I'm expected to see some of Mr. Cobblepot's guests."

The guard on the right gave Emerald a nasty look through, then turned to the mad doctor. "You didn't say anything about a plus one."

"Forgot to mention it," replied Scarecrow. "Trust me, she's nothing bad."

"Far from it," breathed Emerald. She took a step forward, revealing that her body towered over the vixen's by a few inches. "If I were you, human, I'd let us pass. Now."

Lark stared at her point blank for a second longer before shrugging and stepping aside. Scarecrow chuckled, and both of them went inside.

The atmosphere completely changed once you entered. A dark corridor with varying types of blue LED lights were strung across the walls and ceiling. Emerald and Scarecrow walked past several tables filled with suspicious men, either holding a gun or sweet talking an attractive woman. They soon came across a staircase that descended into a deeper level, and a further color as well. The staircase's bottom led to two open doors, one of which was blue and the other white. Coming to a halt right before them, Scarecrow pushed forward. Emerald simply walked through as well, and then she got a shocking sight.

The room she'd walked into was not what she'd been expecting. Scarecrow had told her tales of maniacs and psychopaths who would've loved her, but she didn't think they'd be so…colorful.

"Welcome to the Gotham Rogues, Emerald," Scarecrow said. He motioned for her to follow.

Seated around the tables in the fairly spacious black room were some of Gotham's most deranged baddies. The table closest to the rear wall boasted the literally-split Two-face. His half-burnt face and clothes of divided color ended up making him stand out amongst the pack of goons around him. On his right was the inhuman Man-Bat, the deranged Mr. Zsasz, and the smug Riddler. Mr. Freeze stood against a wall detachedly, checking his ice gun as if fearing for its own life. Poison Ivy sat at the closet table and looked away from her companion, who happened to be the Penguin.

Emerald has expected this great Mr. Cobblepot to be a dashing or intimidating criminal. Instead, he was a small, portly man wearing black and white clothing reminiscent of a well-dressed politician. His nose was shaped like a pointed beak, while a transparent Monocle rested upon his eye. After running a chubby hand through his laid-back black hair, his attention was finally brought to his new guests.

"I see our…guests have arrived," he squawked heartily, mimicking the call of an actual bird. "Scarecrow. To what did you desire this evening?"

"My ally here," said Scarecrow, motioning to Emerald, "is after the container. I think you'll find her… useful to our cause." He tilted his head around and faced Penguin again. "Where are the others?"

"Forget that, straw-face. What can she do?" Firefly asked in a robotic voice.

"Bet she's just a waste of time," Two-Fave said. He held up his coin and concentrated both eyes on it. "We don't need some pretty cosplay chick to take down the Bat."

Insulted, Emerald turned to Two-Face and walked directly to him. Before he could tell what was happening, one of her dark-green wrist blades was holding him up by the edge of his neck collar. He dangled over his table and gasped for air. Everyone was watching in awe, particularly Penguin. Emerald simply glared daggers at the divided villain held in her grasp.

"I am not a 'cosplay chick,' human," she breathed. "I am Emerald of Homeworld, and if you want to continue your villainous ways, I suggest you STAY out of my way." With that, she tossed him into a table, which cracked under Dent's weight.

To the Gem's surprise, she heard applause from behind her. Penguin was clapping enthusiastically, then smiled when she caught his drift. "Marvelous, my dear," he bellowed. "Always wanted to give Harv a lick of his medicine. Anyways, how much is this container worth to you?"

Emerald retracted her wrist blade before answering. "More than you could possibly imagine."

"I like her," Ivy stated. "She' soft spunk."

"Hmmm…" Penguin said. "Well, how about this? You help me out with a job or two, and I'll give it back to you. Scarecrow here needs a guinea pig for his latest batch of fear toxin, and Firefly owes me a robbery…"

"No," she said.

It was like Emerald shot him in the gut, as the entire room became silent at once. Really, what had they been expecting from a mystery warrior woman? The portly crime boss' lip curled in irritation, hinting at the outrage about to explode from within.

"No?" Penguin squeaked, "What do you mean, no? Don't be unreasonable here."

"What I mean to say," said the Gem as she marched forwards, "is that I don't bow down to you all. That canister is mine, and if you want to fight for it," she said while unsheathing her blades, "then so be it."

A dark silence followed. Penguin's face reddened and then he raised a finger. "Everyone, sic her."

Yells of fury were heard from all of the villains as they obliged and got up. Firefly and Zsasz were the first to go at her, backed up by Freeze behind their villainous forms. Firefly let go his gun, spraying hot flames from the tip. Dodging it, Emerald saw that Freeze was airing his ice pistol at her from the opposite corner. Then an idea formed in her head. She vaulted towards Zsasz and used the top of her wrist blades to push his small knife backwards with intense pressure. Checking that they were in position, Emerald decked Zsasz in the face and moved it of the way.

Like a cinema marvel, the ice and flames clashed magnificently. The colors intensified and glowed, and it was only when a faint purple appeared did either villain realize what was about to happen.

"I - Oh," Firefly gasped.

An energy shockwave send both crashing into the opposite walls of the small room. Freeze hit his head and fell into a slump, his gun's coolant chamber leaking into exposed gas. Firefly fared the same, but his gun had instead lost its head. Seeing both defeated, the Gem turned and saw the green-tuxedo of the Riddler standing directly next to her.

"Riddle me this," he smirked. "When does a villain learn they can't win?"

"When they don't think it through, cretin," loathed Emerald. Utilizing of her strength, she swerved her elbow and jabbed it into the thinker's face. He stumbled backwards and mumbled a series of cursed through a bloody nose, but the damage was done. In his blindness, he dropped his cane and tripped into a table. And just like that, the Riddler was out as well.

Victory was short-lived, however. A massive screech filled Emerald's wars, and when she turned, she found Man-Bat soaring right for her. She ducked, but one of his sharp feet talons scratched his shoulder armor. Seeing the scratch, a sudden venom built up in her stomach strongly. How dare he…the gall, to wreck her prized armor. _I'll teach that monstrosity a lesson,_ she thought.

But when she swirled to face him, she witnessed him struggling on the ground. Vines had wrapped around him and pinned him there, and towering over them was the alluring Poison Ivy. She cracked a smile when she dazed at the Gem.

"What? Why?" asked a confused Emerald.

Ivy flicked a finger through the thick bush of red and green leaves that was her hair. "Because," she said smoothly, "You're not wrong. If you want it, you can take it for all I care."

Emerald stiffened. "Thank you..human."

She gazed around the rest of the room. Aside from the destroyed tables and knocked out super villains, Penguin was the only one standing. He held out a sharp umbrella that crackled with electricity. "You've ruffled my feathers, you idiot. Time to understand what happens when you mess with Gotham's top crime lord!"

What should have been a massive fight was interrupted, however, by a bout of surprising thing: laughter. Demented and out of place, the chuckling soon got louder as the source of it appeared from a shadowy corner. It was a tall and lank man, dressed in a purple jacket with a flower on his chest. His arms and face were pale white, and his lips were dressed in a thick red smile. His hair was explosive green, rippling as he stepped down the stairs and ran a twisted hand through it.

It was him. Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime.

"Bravo! Bravo!" Joker chuckled. "You really know how to make an entrance, dearie."

"And you are…" Emerald questioned.

"The Joker," Penguin answered. He turned to the Clown. "Joker, what are you doing here? I'm in the middle of some delicate business!"

"Oh, Ozzie," the Clown chuckled. He walked forward before placing a hand on his shoulder. "You should always know I mean to give you a good time. For right now, how about this?" He griped the flower in his jacket and squeezed it, a small cloud of yellowish gas resulting from it. Penguin coughed and hissed at being exposed to it before collapsing on the ground unconscious.

Emerald surveyed the defeat of the crime boss and looked to the victor. "Thank you. But what did you do that for?

Uncomfortably, the Joker cackled. "Can't you take a joke? That's how you score some comedy!" He took a second to adjust before starting up again. "I know from the grapevine you're out to do something big, huh?"

"You don't know me at all, you…psycho," Emerald spit back venomously.

"Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine," said Joker. "Y'know, whenever I want to get Batman's attention, I always make it look spectacular. From what Scarecrow was selling, you've got something like that?"

"How did he tell you about it?"

Laughing again, the Joker inched increasingly closer. "He and Harvey were sneaking off…what's you expect me to do but play a joke on them? Anyhoo, I bet you were looking for this?" The psychopath whipped out in his gloved hand a small canister, the contents moving excitedly and pressing against the glass as if trying to test its limit. Emerald's mind suddenly became crystal focused on the canister; it was her first and only concern in the world.

"Give it to me," she barked threateningly.

"Now hold on a second, princess," Joker quipped. In his other hand, he presented a small goal of greenish liquid. The label "B-62" was present on it, sparkling in the darkness. "I recently liberated this from a very naughty place. It can make things more exciting! You up for making some history here?"

Emerald thought back to what Scarecrow had said, and then the various offers she'd gotten from him and he Penguin. Here was a man who was crazy but at least delivered on what he promised. Combining the container and whatever he had in his hand – looking to be some sort of altering gene chemical – could finally achieve what she'd merely thought of doing on Homeworld. Genetic weaponization.

But… she obviously didn't trust him. He was crazy, after all. So when this deal met its mark and concluded, he would be the one to realize he'd made a mistake.

"Alright," said Emerald in a smooth manner. "You wish to apply your chemical and my canister to cause chaos? So be it. But I will be the one to do the mixing."

"Sure thing, but I at least want some fun!" Joker exclaimed excitedly. He held out the canister, which the Gem swiftly swiped from his hand in an instant. "Geez, don't be a stranger."

The container shined in front of her. A crisp of power flowed into her hand, and Emerald realized that somehow – someway – an unknown energy had leaked into it. _No matter. If this only increases my chances of success, I'll take it._

The two were now joined by Ivy, who'd been standing in the back and watching the conversation unfold. "So, what's in the container?" She asked innocently.

Emerald placed it on a standing table and unscrewed the lid. What came out of the exposed entrance was a blinding but small multicolored light, forcing the villains to initially cover their eyes. The Gem scientist simply stared at it and smiled in satisfaction.

"Something…productive," she said. "When my kind are destroyed – for good – they are left in pieces. But sometimes, we find the pieces and try and make them better. Only they tend to not get better. They turn into monstrosities, like this." She reaches a hand in and plucked a small mass of brown, moving matter. It was the size of her hand and wriggled around as if a toddler.

"What is that?" Ivy asked scantily.

"This," replied Emerald, "is a Cluster Gem. And when they come in contact with other life forms, they merge into mindless monstrosities." Her eyes scanned the floor filled with multiple unconscious super villains; suddenly, an evil idea cane to mind. "Why don't we ask our volunteers here for a helping hand?"

Joker cackled an even higher laugh than usual, filling the room with his twisted giggles. "I like where this is going!"

 **And so do I! Anyways, next chapter should be here by next week or do. Leave s question, and thank you to everyone who has followed this this far!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, guys! Sorry for taking so long, but with finals over and the Christmas buzz beginning, I think ill be ready to do more of these chapters. At this point story-wise, I'm halfway through the story, and things are about to heat up. I'd also like to thank the people who have joined in reading this constantly; you inspire me!**

 **I can confirm my Christmas surprise should be coming by the end of the month!**

 **Here are some review responses:**

 **Dredd2012: Thanks, thought that liquid isn't Venom. It's named-dropped in chapter 3.**

 **Shian1998: Thanks! The answer to that is in here.**

 **And without further ado, chapter nine of Darknight Universe!**

When Garnet's specs looked at Batman, they were a lot darker than usual. This seemed to convey her mood at the moment- urgently worried.

"I need your help," she had said. The words sunk in quicker than she'd anticipated, so she fretted regarding if he was going to react violently.

Thankfully, Batman did not attack or reach for something. Instead. His posture remained the same. "First, who are you, not to mention the rest of your team? And secondly, what do you need help with?"

"My name is Garnet," she said. "I am an alien known as a Gem and the leader of the heroes known as the Crystal Gems."

"Gems?" Robin quipped. "That doesn't sound familiar."

"That's because it shouldn't," replied Garnet. "We're not from this dimension."

Batman's brows connected as it suddenly came to him. "…Of course," he said. "But why?"

"We were fighting an evil Gem named Emerald when this container of hers went off. Somehow, in some way, we wound up in Gotham City. We've been trying to get back ever since then, but when we came across Wrath, he was planning to attack the police." She gave Batman a glare as she said this. "We stopped him when his bomb went off, and I'm sure you would've done the same thing."

"We jumped to conclusions," Batman admitted with honesty. "I apologize for that."

"Thank you," said Garnet. "To answer your other question, we need help getting home."

"And where is home?" Robin asked. The wind brushed against his hoodie as he talked.

"Beach City, a small town near the other half of this continent, I believe," Garnet said. We checked, and there isn't one here, which confirms we're not in the same dimension."

"If you got sent here," Robin said, "what do you need to get home? A portal?"

"No. It was this container for what we call a cluster Gem – bits and pieces of shattered gems turned into monstrosities." Garnet took her hands together and squashed them tightly, using them as an example of what it looked like. "If we can find it, it might be able to send us back to where we were in the first place."

Batman looked at Garnet with a greater sense of understanding. In their first meeting, he'd thought of her as nothing more than a two-dimensional villain. But now, he'd gotten to understand her and what she really was. Besides, he couldn't in good conscience leave her and her allies to be stuck in somewhere they didn't belong. He of all people knew the importance of family.

"Hh," he grunted. "We'll help you get back."

"We will?" Robin said, surprise evident in his voice.

"Thank you," Garnet replied. She got closer and held out one of her massive fists. Batman was about to inquire about how shaking it would work when it morphed into a regular – of alien origin – hand. He promptly shook it and let go.

"I think we should get the rest of the Gems," said Garnet. "We need to trust each other if we're to get back home.

"Agreed," Batman said. "But where are they?"

"Follow me." As soon as she had said that, the imposing Gem turned and jumped off of the rooftop. The dynamic duo looked to see she was running vast distances across the buildings, not even breaking a sweat. Taking inspiration, Batman launched a grapnel and zipped towards her path.

"Ugh," Robin moaned before following his father in pursuit of their new ally.

…

Peridot meandered back and forth on the small steps near where the Lady of Gotham stood. Everybody else sat on the ground, either gazing at their weapons or making small talk.

"When do you think she's getting back?" Steven asked Pearl. The warrior Gem turned her body towards him and pondered on it.

"Knowing Garnet," Pearl said, "she'll probably return sometime soon. She should be okay."

"Correct, Pearl," a voice said. Everyone nearly jumped at the sight of Garnet, who was standing right next to the group and as if she'd been there the whole time. What was most surprising, though, was the fact that Batman and Robin were standing next to her.

Pearl readied her spear. "Garnet, Batman's here!"

"I know," Garnet said nonchalantly. "I was the one to bring them here."

The shock seemed to intensify on everyone's faces after she said this. "Wait, you brought the clods here? Why?" exclaimed Peridot.

Before Garnet could elaborate further, Batman stepped forward. "Look, I know that you don't trust me. I get it; we thought you were villains and attacked you without reason. And it was wrong to assume that." He gave Garnet a little nod before continuing on. "But Garnet told me of your problem, and I'm going to try and do everything I can to help you all get home."

"Well," said Amethyst, "that sounds nice."

Steven walked closer and looked up at Batman, who in turn looked down at the boy. "If you think you can get us home, then thanks."

He couldn't see it, but the dark knight felt something tough about the youth. He had a spark and fierceness to him, hidden within his sweet appearance, that made him more than he seemed. He had to wonder what pain or events had driven him to where he was now.

And then Batman did something he almost never did; he smirked.

"You're welcome."

"So how are you planning we need to get home?" Lapis said.

Robin turned to the water Gem and leveled a snarky gaze in her direction. "By bringing you back to our base, of course. We can consult each other like normal people do."

"Robin, enough," said Batman. "He's correct - our base has shelter and technology capable of probably giving an idea where your canister is."

All of the Gems looked at Batman and Robin suspiciously for a second, their eyes followed by a silence. After a good handful of seconds passed, Connie and Steven walked forwards and smiled.

"Let's do it," Steven said.

"I trust him," Connie said.

"Then that's our cue," Garnet said. "Gems, let's roll out!"

…

A police car turned Kingston Avenue, watching out for some pedestrian ones in the process. Sitting in the seats were Bullock and Montoya. Harvey munched on a pink donut while Renee held onto the driving wheel, looking particularly determined.

"Renee, you can take a breather once in a while," Bullock said as he took another frosting-coated bite of his treat. "Things don't always make sense."

"That's not the point, Harvey!" she shot back intensely. "These...things, they just popped up and are loose around the city! Not even that, they blew up the warehouse...for all we know, they could be terrorists!"

"Look," he replied, "Until we know for sure, we shouldn't speculate."

"I guess…" Renee relaxed and cooled down, focusing on making her turn signal on for a left turn. Just as she was about to do it, a voice picked up from the small radio jammed between the two of them.

"All units, 10-34 in progress," a thick voice stated. "10-34 on Finger Ave heading towards Adams Boulevard."

The two tuned to each other, realizing they were on the cusp of that street. Renee snatched the radio before Harvey could lick his fingers and pressed the button on it. "Dispatch, this is Detectives Montoya and Bullock. We're closest to the 10-34. We'll check it out."

"Understood," the voice on the radio replied.

"Who started the riot?" Harvey asked. "Bane? Blockbuster? Amygdala?"

"Could be just about anyone," Renee remarked. "Like you - oh, my god."

The detective's car had swerved onto Finger Avenue, and it was far from what they'd expected. Distressed citizens ran towards them, screaming in panic. The closest cars were either engulfed in flames or completely wrecked. To add insult to injury, some lampposts had fallen over and were sizzling with dangerous electricity.

"What could have done this?" Renee asked seriously.

"How about that!" Bullock pointed a thick finger towards the northwest building. Renee saw where he was indicating to and squinted. In her line of sight, she saw a man obscured by shadow. He stepped closer to the edge of the building, and then she realized who it was. It was Two-Face, but he looked drastically different. His trademark black-and-white clothing had shades of every possible color on it. Small jagged blobs sprouted from his chest and arms themselves, and his burned face portion has crystals melded into it. If he wasn't ugly before, he sure was now.

"The hell happened to him?" Renee said.

Before Bullock could answer, Two-Face bellowed and leaped off the roof in an inhuman movement. He dived right for the car and the two detectives in it.

"Watch out!" Harvey screamed.


	10. Chapter 10

"Okay, got it." Batwoman ended her communications conversation after clicking the small button on the side of her mask. "Batman and Robin are bringing our recent adversaries here."

"He's what?" said Batwing.

"Why'd he do that?" asked Clayface curiously.

"All I got was that we'd had a misunderstanding and that things needed to be sorted out," she said back. "His exact words were an "urgent matter."

…

Some time later, Batman and the others managed to make their way to the Belfry, swinging or leaping onto the old tower roof hundreds of feet above Gotham's streets. Peridot nearly fell as she got accustomed to the old, weathered top.

"This way," Batman said. He started walking to a ramp that lead to the door.

"One door?" Amethyst asked sarcastically. "Is it a doorway to doom?"

"It'll be one if you can't get a hold of yourself," Robin barked. "Stop dawdling and keep up!"

"Little tyrant, isn't he?" Connie said quietly to Steven as they walked together.

"I guess so," Steven said. "Then again, everyone has different sides to them."

The group shuffled single file into the door and walked to an elevator inside. Once everyone was in it, they went down and stopped on a particular level. The door revealed a dark blue hallway leading into a massive hub room. The Gems could barely believe their eyes when they saw it; the room has massive windows that showcased the city in the background. The walls were packed with computer consoles, equipment, and what looked to be variations of Batman's costume. In the middle of the room was a round table with six seats, and hanging over it was a thick but rusty bell, held into place by three chains. All of the vigilantes they had fought earlier that night were seated around it. Understandably, they were unable to look at the newcomers without being suspicious

"Er," Batwing managed to get out, "Hey, folks."

"What is this place?" Pearl wondered out loud, really entranced by the enormity of the the building.

"It's called the Belfry," Batman said. "It's the base of operations for most – but not all – of the people here."

"And these days, people apparently walk in without an intro," Batwoman said dryly. She took Batman aside, whispering, "What was this urgent reason you brought them here for?"

"You might want her to explain it all," he said, pointing to Garnet.

"We are the Crystal Gems," Garnet said strongly. "We are alien warriors from another universe. We wound up here during a scuffle with an enemy of ours, and now we're looking to reclaim the very item that sent us away from our home."

"How do we know you're not lying?" asked Batgirl.

"Because we're trapped here," said Steven, whom everyone suddenly paid attention to. "You're the only ones who could probably help us."

"Additionally," Pearl said," we tried to stop Wrath from planning an attack on the police, even though he managed to bomb his own forces. Doesn't that count for something?"

Silence lingered in the room for a bit before Nightwing walked up and extended a hand. "Sorry. Let's try this a second time; my name's Nightwing, welcome to Gotham."

Garnet accepted his hand and smiled. "Thank you," she said.

"If you guys are aliens," Batwing said, "then is your lion alien?" He pointed to Lion, who was currently licking his fur and sitting on the floor.

"Hahaha…not exactly," said Steven. "It's a long story…"

Batwoman turned to the rest of the vigilantes, saying "Alright, team. We've got some work to do. Batwing, I want you to try to help the Gems figure out what we're looking for and where it might be. Robin, check the GCPD cams and dispatch. See if there's anything about we can use. The rest of you can socialize for the moment."

"I don't need orders, I know what to do," Robin quipped.

"Then why don't you act your age and follow them?" Batman reprimanded. Robin shot him a glare before walking quickly to the mainBelfry computer.

"Ooh, burn!" Amethyst cried sarcastically. She looked around to find that none of their new acquaintances were smiling or amused. "Aww, never mind."

The groups began to blend, conversations erupting and apologies issuing amongst the Gems and heroes. Garnet walked over to Batwing's computer station to talk about the container. Pearl stroke up a conversation with Azrael, who whipped out his sword and quickly compared it to her spear.

Orphan meandered quietly towards Lion and bent to stroke his hair out of curiosity. Just as she was about to do so, a voice interrupted. "You want to pet him?"

The girl saw that Steven watching her and retracted her hand quickly. "…Yes?" was what she managed to get out. Part of her was worried, had she offended him by just daring to touch his pet?

"It's okay," he replied smiling. "He likes to sleep a lot, but that's when you get the best chance to touch him." He motioned for her hand, and when she gave it to him, he brought it down to his fur. Even through her costume's gloves, she could feel the individual fibers and energy in the beast. It was unlike anything she'd ever sensed. Plus, Cassandra had never seen a lion before, and a tame one at that.

Steven looked at her masked face curiously. "My name's Steven. What's yours?"

Appreciating the way he was being nice to her, Orphan ripped off her head garb and extended her hand to meet his. She honestly didn't care if he and the others saw her face and black hair, she wanted him to feel comfortable. "…Cassandra."

"Cool!" He exclaimed.

…

While all of the ice breaking was going on, Lapis slunk our to the hallway and began exploring the Belfry. Social interactions just weren't her thing; she had a hard time trusting people, and despite Garnet putting their differences aside for getting home, she still couldn't bring herself to do it.

The blue-skinned Gem passed a series of rooms that were specifically decorated with gear, posters, and living quarters. She swung a right in the hall and started heard loud noises. Going closer to the source, she reached a window that looked into a massive training room. It appeared to be half the length of a football field, but what was really intriguing was the training going on inside it.

Standing in the middle of the room was Clayface, surrounded by a series of robbers with technologically-advanced guns. Two of them progressed forward and fired beams of red energy at him. In response, he quickly maneuvered his clay body out fo the beams' way, making holes in the process. Then he stretched his arm and proceeded to punch the robbers one after the other. Realizing there were four robbers left, the mud man chuckled.

"Game on, fellas," he said charismatically.

He began to morph into a shape, swirling until all that was left was a large ball of brown clay. The robbers fired at it, but said ball was already out of the way and directed itself at them. They were helpless as he rolled into all of them, one after another. When he stopped and reformed into his bulky normal self, all that could seen of the robbers was nothing but smudges of blood.

 _He killed them?!_ Lapis thought, shocked at the outcome.

Her question, thankfully, was answered when the robbers' remains began to move and congregate into piles of mud. That's when she understood it; he'd been fighting dummies, creatures that could mimic a threat and yet be recycled instantly.

Clayface looked at his surroundings before walking to the door. Lapis suddenly realized her point of view was actually above it, and then deduced that he would be coming out under her. True to her idea, the door opened and he exited, breathing heavily from his fight.

"Nice work," Lapis said. Clayface turned around and looked at her, surprised.

"Ain't you supposed to be with the others, hanging out and stuff?" He said back.

"I'm…not that social," the Gem replied. "What were you just doing back there?"

"Workin' our a bit," he said nonchalantly. "I need to hone my skills every now and then, even with my clay powers."

Lapis was intrigued by what he said. "Those clay things…you and them are the same, aren't you?"

The ex-villain looked away and sighed. "S'nothin important."

"How did you get your powers?" Lapis asked curiously.

He didn't answer right away, preferring to look at one of the room's dark walls. Finally, he turned around with what looked to her like sad eyes. "I was in accident…it turned me into this freak, and in the process I hurt people. A lot of them. I couldn't control who I was for years. And then one day Batman gave me the chance to become a better person. But some days, I just don't know…" he rested against a pole nearby and sighed once again.

"Why?"

"All the people I've hurt…the things I've done…is it really worth it? I just feel like I'll end up the same as I was before…" he ended there, his words choking his throat up.

Lapis walked closer, gathering as much courage that's she could muster. "I…I've done some bad things, too. And at first, I felt that I deserved hating myself. But the other people in my life, they showed me that there's more to living that being self-loathing."

"If you're friends are like mine, they believe in you, and that's enough to keep you working towards doing the right thing."

Clayface looked up at the Gem, smirking like he normally did. Her talk seemed to have helped uplift his spirit once again. "Y'know, you make a pretty good motivator."

Lapis blushed dark blue. "Thanks. I guess you could say that comes with being a Gem that controls water."

"So that's how you beat me back at the rooftop," he said. "Kind o' cheap, if you ask me."

"I'll show you cheap the next time we get in a fight," she said back.

"Fair enough."

…

Back in the hub room, everyone was gathered around the main round table, listening to an in-depth explanation of fusion. Some were attentive and other looked at the concept with skepticism.

"So fusion is what you did back there?" Nightwing said.

"Yeah," Steven said. "It's like when two Gems dance or get near each other, they become one being whose stronger because of their combined power."

"Tt," Robin said. "How can you two fuse if you're both human?"

"That's because he's not," replied Pearl firmly. "Steven is half-Gem, seeing as he's the son of our... deceased leader, Rose Quartz. That's why he had his mother's shield and healing saliva."

"And her gemstone, too!" Steven added in. He lifted up his shirt to expose his gem. Planted firmly where his belly button would've been, a shiny pink Gemstone stood out. It shined in the lights of the space brightly, capturing everyone's reflection in its wake.

"Fascinating," said Azrael.

"It's…shiny? It looks nice, though," commented Batgirl.

As Steven pulled his shirt down, Garnet turned back to Batwing and the holographic maps of Gotham. He'd pulled them up in order to compute where a small container that powerful would be, but the readings had only been recently put in. It would take some time.

"How's it going?"

"Slowly," He said. "The energy this thing should be giving off matches your guys' signatures, but having to filter out yours and spread it across the city isn't an easy feat."

"Don't worry, she replied. "I know you'll succeed."

"How do you figure that?"

"You could call it luck, or in my case, future vision."

Just as he was about to make a retort, the screen blinked green and changed dramatically. A series of several dots appeared in a portion of the city close by. As they linked up, Batwing blinked to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"I must be seeing things," he said.

"Why?" said Batwoman, who's returned to the room and made her way towards him. "What's going on, Luke?"

"Garnet had me try to track down her container, but the thing is…I've got several different matches on Finger Avenue."

"Meaning?" Pearl asked.

"Either that container spilled…" Batwing said eerily, "or it suddenly became several different people."

Batwoman's communications headset suddenly buzzed to life, a worried voice playing quickly. "Kate!"

"Renee?" Batwoman whispered. "No offense, but we're kind of-"

"-in trouble!" Renee screamed over the phone. "I'm on Finger Avenue! Something happened to a bunch of Arkham inmates, and now they're causing mass panic."

"...What do you mean by 'something happened to them?'"

"I don't know!" Renee stated loudly over the radio. Batwoman heard a couple of gunshots and what appeared to be haphazard screaming in the background. "They've all got colored things growing on them, and they're crazier than normal! We need help!"

"On it," Batwoman said calmly. Once Renee had hung up, she turned to the others. "That was the police. There's mass hysteria on Finger Avenue."

"That might explain the multiple signals," Garnet said.

"We need to head there now. Azrael, Orphan, Nightwing, you're with me. Batgirl and Batwing, stay at base and work on deducing what we're looking at." Batwoman turned and began walking towards the exit, flanked by those she'd called.

"We're coming too," Connie said.

"I wouldn't think that would be a good idea," Batman said as he walked in, most likely having heard the conversation getting to the room. "Gotham's criminals are dangerous, and you don't fully know what they're capable of."

"We've taken on giants and aliens from different planets, B-Man," piped Amethyst. "We'll be fine."

"Not to mention your clods might be getting pulled into our mess," Peridot. "We need to clean it up, after all."

"Suit yourself," Batwoman said. "Everyone, let's go."

The four vigilantes walked out, with Steven, Pearl, Amethyst, and Connie following right behind them. No sooner had they left than Lapis and Clayface walked in, dumbfounded as to why there were fewer people in the room.

"Crud!" exclaimed Clayface. "We missed something good, didn't we?"

"Getting warmer," Robin said grumpily.


	11. Chapter 11

**Buenos Tardes! It's been a week and I'm back with the next chapter. Honestly, I would've posted this yesterday, but my phone was being a jerk, so all's well that ends well (or something). I just wanted to thank the three to five people who've started following and favorited this story in the last week, as it means a lot! Before O move on, I'm going to respond to one review-**

 **Shian1998: Thank you!**

 **So please, review if you can! Critique, say what you liked, make predictions, or anything else you'd love to do - It makes my job as a writer here all the more beneficial.**

 **And now, on to chapter eleven!**

A couple of hours ago, Finger Avenue had been a somewhat decent street, part of the collection of tarnished pathways intertwining the skyscrapers of Gotham. It wasn't a landmark, but at least it meant something to the people of the neighborhood. Unfortunately for the populace, that was before things had hit the fan.

Amidst the fires and rubble, cars were wreaked and flames were as lively as ever. Hidden behind their trashed vehicle were detectives Harvey Bullock and Renee Montoya. He had a splash of blood on his forehead that was slowly getting wider. Renee on the other hand had her pistol out and looked wildly for any sign of danger.

"Hold on, Harvey!" She said.

"Don't worry," the semi-unconscious Detective retorted. "I'll…manage. Just watch out for Two-Face."

Renee's vision flipped to the end of the street, but she could see nothing destructive. How could Two-Face, slightly more monstrous, do all of this?

 _Forget that,_ her inner thoughts said. _Right now_ , _what matters is staying alive and finding him._

Gun in hand, she peeled around the edge of the car and at the street. A massive flame was encircling the middle of the space, flickering intensely. Quickly, several shadows began to emerge from the fire. A grotesque version of Man-Bat with green and yellow appendages on his wings. Firefly's normal yellow appearance was infringed upon by black chunks of something…alien, and Zsasz had a look on his face that wasn't fully seen because of the multicolored blob covering a quarter of it. Leading them all was none other than Two-Face, even more ugly because of the rapidly growing spec on his chest

"Crap," Renee said. Looking back between Harvey and then the approaching villains, she decided to take a stand. She gripped her gun tight, took aim, and released all of her rounds at them. To her shock, the bullets bounced off or barely made cracks in their forms. Some breathed heavier and others grunted in horrible laughter.

"Screw You!" She shouted.

At her comment, Firefly raised his gun and ignited his all-too familiar blasts. Renee tried to move, but the fire was just upon her as she tried to hide with Harvey. She closed her eyes and waited for the pain to start.

What happened next was hard to a surprise , to say the least. Renee opened her eyes and realized that some sort of pink barrier was encircling her from harm. Her eyes searched for who had come to her rescue, and to her shock saw the very same boy from earlier that night. He was holding onto the bubble with a strained look, keeping a watch on the villains in case they made another move.

"You okay?" Steven asked.

"…yeah," Renee said. _Well, nothing makes sense anymore. That's official._

"I can't hold him off for much longer," he said urgently." It was that moment she realized that Firefly's fire had never gone out, and thta he was still spraying the flames at the bubble intensely. "When I lower the bubble, can you jump out?"

"Sure thing."

"Now!" He yelled. The bubble's wall began to fall, but Renee had already shot to the ground, taking Steven with her. Where they would've been was soon occupied with the final extent of Firefly's flames. Once they found nothing to hit, the oxygen took over and they evaporated.

Getting up, Renee said, "Thanks, kid. You really saved my bacon there."

"Your welcome," said Steven. "My name's Steven."

"You two alright?" They turned to find Batwoman standing there, flanked by the other vigilantes and Gems.

"Kate…what's going on?" Renee asked intimately.

"I can't explain right now," said Batwoman, " but it's a long story." Her gaze flickered to Harvey, who was still curled up behind the bottom of their police car. "Orphan, help get the detectives out of here."

"Okay," she said. Orphan moved forwards and started to help Bullock get up, much to his unbalanced displeasure.

"…the hell? What's goin' on?" He mumbled groggily and half-awake. Renee and Orphan both got under his arms and started walking to the nearby corner slowly.

"Helping," Orphan said.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine, Harvey," Renee said assuredly. She gave one last gaze at Batwoman before taking off.

With the civilians out of the way, Batwoman and the others turned to gaze upon the monstrous villains. They looked relatively untouched and suddenly began to advance towards the heroes.

"Eww," Nightwing said. "What happened to them all? It's looks like Two-Face got even uglier."

"It can't be...," gasped Pearl.

"Can't be what?" Batwoman asked.

"It's a Cluster Gem," said Steven. "They're these… monstrosities or formed fusions created by evil Gems from Homeworld. They weren't meant to be, and because they're so lonely, they try to fuse with everything they come into constant wit."

"Sounds like the sort of creature you shouldn't touch," Azrael surmised.

"Of course," Peridot said, "though it appears those villainous clods have somehow became fused with them…hmm.."

"They're a danger to everyone here," Batwoman said. "Take them down!"

The four Gems and three vigilantes ran right at their enemies, dodging the fire and getting into individual fights. The monstrous villains responded with horrifying grunts as they went to attack, too.

Two-Face aimed a tommy gun and fired wildly. While the rest scattered to find cover from the bullets, Peridot remained where she was and raised a hand. The maniac's gun flew several feet in the air and vanished from sight. When he realized that he was now defenseless, he shouted inaudible words at her in hatred. The short Gem was only amused at his reaction.

"Take that, you c-ugh!" Surprisingly, she gasped for air as he attempted to strangle her. Fusion Two-Face held in his hand several inches over the ground, his grip tightening by the second. _This makes…ugh…no sense!,_ Peridot thought _. I don't need to breath…what's he…ugh…doing to me?!_

"Peridot!" Steven cited in worry. As concerned as he was, he was too focused on matching Zsasz's knife parries with his shield to help.

"I've got her!" Nightwing yelled. He gripped his two escrima sticks and vaulted into her direction. Coming upon Peridots increasing suffocation, he jabbed one into Dent's jugular. The villain gurgled and dropped Peridot onto the ground, slightly bruised but able to breath normally. Nightwing then dashed to his frontside and delivered a kick to his stomach. Surprisingly, it had little effect, and the mutated villain just grunted in annoyance.

"Well, ok," he said," this isn't working!"

"Tell me about it!" Azrael yelled from nearby. He and Amethyst were ganging up on Firefly, but to seemingly no effect. The villain's flames forced the knight to hold up his cape in protection, while Amethyst was knocked back by the searing intensity. She landed on her head and rubbed it for a bit. But when she got back up, it could be seen that there was a murderous look in her eyes.

"That's it," she said irritably, "I'm officially ticked off!"

Amethyst's body transformed into a more muscular version of herself as she ran right to the psychopath. Her two arms gripped Firefly and chucked him into the side of a building, causing him to painfully collide and bricks to be blasted off. A soft moan was heard before the villain went to sleep.

"Nice work," Azrael said as he came up to her spot.

"Yeah, no problem," Amethyst said nonchalantly, morphing back into her normal self. "It's then we have to worry about." She pointed to Man-Bat and Mr. Zsasz, who were currently engaging the others.

"Let's go help, shall we?"

Above them all, Pearl jumped from a window several stories up and managed to grab onto Man-Bat's brown foot. He screeched eerily and flapped his wings in an attempt to escape, but it was all futile as she knew what he was planning. In the scuffle, they went right into a lamppost. Pearl was held back with an "Oof!" while he went forwards and crashed somewhat gently onto the street.

Managing to get down, she whipped out her spear and went right for him. However, her attempts were interrupted by the surprising emergence of a small cluster arm from his mutated wing, which quickly gripped her spear and held it in place.

"Ugh," Pearl groaned as she tried to grasp for control of her spear. "Let go!"

"Screeeee!" Man-bar bellowed in a massive sonic blast. Pearl closed her arms in an attempt to protect herself, but even being a Gem didn't stop the sonic waves from blasting her back. She managed to gain her footing when shot half a mile down the street, but felt more unnerved than ever.

"Need some help?" Batwoman asked as she ran up besides the Gem.

"I guess," Pearl said. "We need to take this…thing down."

"I get the wings, you get him in the stomach," Batwoman said efficiently. It amazed Pearl to no end how quick and decisive the vigilante could be about solving problems. Maybe she was a warrior who had a past too?

 _A question for another time._

"Got it!"

Batwoman and Pearl began running at Man-Bat together, the wind blowing in their faces but showing no signs of effect. He inhaled a great deal before releasing another sonic attack. The two luckily saw it coming and split to the sides of the street, dodging in time what would've been incredible deafening. Now free to do as she pleased, Batwoman quickly snatched a grapnel from her utility belt and whirled it at Man-Bat's right wing. He immediately tried to rip it off with his cluster appendages, but she was already prepared for this; a sudden jolt of electricity went through the wire and shocked him immensely. He howled in staggering pain, yet the only sound that came out was unrecognizable to humans.

"Not this time, Langstrom," the vigilante remarked coldly.

In his time of weakness, Batwoman whirled another grandpa into his other wing, then pulled them together. The creature hollered when his wings were unfortunately locked next to one another, and this gave Pearl the perfect opportunity to attack. She leapt forwards and dove right into the brown-furred chest with a trio of punches before ending it all with a quick kick. As the set of attacks took their time, Man-Bat gasped for air and then collapsed.

"Well, that's one less bat in the Belfry," Batwoman remarked. Pearl looked at her in surprise.

"I didn't know you made jokes," she said.

"Only when it's appropriate," replied Batwoman. "I can't help myself when there's an actual, grown bat in my midst."

They both chuckled before suddenly stopping and feeling embarrassed. Then a shout for help got their attention.

"Guys! A little help?" Steven asked in a panic-like voice. He was currently lodged up against Victor Zsasz, who despite the clusters on his body was deadlier than ever.

"I'm going to cut you, little boy!" He said maniacally, then went to take a swipe at the child. Steven blocked it with his pink shield, but the ferocity of the strikes were getting closer.

"Steven!" Pearl cried in worry. She was about to get to him when a hand rested on her shoulder.

"Wait," Batwoman said. She pointed to the battle and looked as if she had a prediction on what was about to happen.

Out of nowhere, a fire emerged within Steven's movements. His eyes became darker and he yelled while holding his shield. Zsasz faltered for a moment, which was all the chunky boy needed to push his back in a series of powerful blows.

"I don't care who you are or what happened to you," Steven said in a heavy voice, "but nobody threatens me and my friends!"

Zsasz was knocked back farther and held up his knife in defense, but Steven put all the force he could into his arm and brought his shield up. The blow smacked into the madman's chin, sending him into the pavement with a slow moan. He huffed and puffed before letting the shield evaporate into his control.

The boy suddenly noticed his allies walking towards him on the wrecked street, some bruised and one or two carrying an unconscious villain.

"Nice work, Steven!" said Amethyst, impressed at her companion's victory.

"Agreed," Batwoman said. "That guy isn't a pushover."

Rubbing the back of his neck and blushing red, Steven said," Uh…Thanks. It was nothing, really."

Nightwing and a slightly disheveled Peridot made their way to them all. The former boy wonder turned over an unconscious Two-Face to the ground, his body covered in bruises but still breathing.

"Well, Dent's done," He said. "The others are down?"

"Yep," Amethyst said. "Sure was fun, huh?"

"Not for me," Peridot said annoyed. "I for one do not want to have to deal with another clod that tries to strangle me into being poofed. And I don't need to breathe! What's up with that?"

"'Poofed?'" asked Azrael, obviously not understanding the concept completely.

"I'll explain later," Pearl said.

A sudden shadow joined the group before melting into the lights of the flames raging around them.

"Orphan, where are the officers?" Batwoman asked.

"Safe," she replied.

"Good."

"So what's our next move, chief?" Nightwing said. "Bring these guys back to base and figure out the villainous plan?"

"That would seem right," said Pearl," but Emerald is still on the loose. If this was only an appetizer, I hate to see what she has planned for the main course."

Everyone present suddenly pictured the Gem and shivered at the idea that she was totally untraceable. Truly, they had no idea of what she could do.

…

Back at the Belfry, Garnet, Batwing, and Batman stood in front of the main computer analyzing the energy signal of the canister. It had been remarkably the same for some time on Finger Avenue, until it began to shrink five minutes ago and then disappeared.

"Well, that's…off," he said in surprise. "Wonder what happened to the villains?"

"Why would their energy signatures turn off?" Batman said.

"Maybe the cluster parts of them got destroyed or something." Batwing turned to Garnet after noticing her lack of a response. "Garnet, what do you think?"

The purple Gem stood their for a second, not moving and clearly absorbed into her specs. Before either of them said anything, she focused and looked at them. "Attacking a street and causing destruction wouldn't do much, even if she were stranded on this planet." Garnet started pacing in the same strides, holding her hand to her chin. "Emerald is a warrior and scientist first. She had something larger at play here…I can feel it."

Suddenly, Robin came bolting in and walked up to them in a hurry. "Father, I've found something!"

"What?" Batman asked.

"The police got an emergency call from the Iceberg Lounge. Something happened in the basement and now there remains a massive crater in the establishment. From what the call reported, witnesses said the Joker, Poison Ivy, and a green woman escaped the building with others following them."

"Hm…so Joker is involved," Batman said. "Why would he…no…"

"I've read up on your Joker," Garnet mentioned. "Why are you more worried than normal?"

"Joker stole an experimental chemical asphyxiate from A.C.E. Chemicals last night," Batwing provided. "If he's working with your Emerald bad guy, maybe he plans on combing it with her cluster container…the results could be VERY bad."

"We don't know for sure," Robin said definitely.

Batman suddenly looked as if he had struck gold. "Luke, where in Gotham can you find the most cutting-edge technology and resources to splice DNA and genetics?"

Even under his mask, Batwing could sense what his mentor was getting at. It obviously didn't sit right in his stomach, but he had to respond.

"…Stagg Industries."

…

Joker gawked at the massive skyscraper that was the home of Stagg Enterprises. He honestly had expected it to be a bit more like the more mundane buildings of Gotham, but lo and behold, it was unique in more ways than one. The color palate was mainly white and a bit manilla, and the windows carved and edgy. It looked relatively pretty.

He couldn't wait to make it his very own masterpiece.

"Where are we, Clown?" Emerald asked impatiently. "I can already feel our distraction fading though this canister."

"Right where we need to be, right Joker?" Poison Ivy said assuredly.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it," he chuckled creepily. "This place is going to be VERY helpful to what we have in mind, and I know a certain millionaire who'll be dying to help our scheme out. Now," he said indicating the high climb, "how about a little help with the heights, Pam darling?"

"Call me that again and I'll tie wrap up in vines so hard, you'll look nothing more than a deflated balloon," she replied with dark-cutting words of venom.

As Ivy began to work her magic, Emerald chuckled. Things were off to a great start.

 **Things are heating up, with next chapter giving an idea of what their "plan" is. Until next time, followers!**


	12. Chapter 12

**And I live! Stuff's heating up at college, but so is my artistic and literary brain! This pic is getting near the end, but there is still some fun to be had** **! Thanks for following and favoriting this story, guys! Please review and comment!**

The security guard walked through the front door of Stagg Enterprises, marveling at the building's impressive presence. The lobby was practically half the size of a football field. Twin fountains adorned the entrance while various grey seats were set everywhere in carefully-made rows. It definitely rivaled the marble-coated welcoming hall over at Wayne Enterprises.

His gaze soon went to the other officer at the visitor desk, a man with black hair who looked exhausted based on the bags under his eyes. Upon seeing his new arrival, he perked up and decided to strike some conversation.

"You a new guy?" He asked casually.

"Yeah… the name's Hagen," the other guard said nervously. "I got called in to assist on the shift tonight."

"Didn't hear nothing about that, but whatever," the security guard at the desk replied. He moved through a newspaper pile and opened it, blocking his face from Hagen's viewpoint. "I learned a long time ago that things happen without you really knowing about it in the first place."

Out of nowhere, a small red light flickered on the man's desk. He quickly put down his paper and looked at his computer in alarm. "Crud."

"That's got to be an issue, right?"

"It's Mr. Stagg's personal alarm," the guard said quickly. He opened the booth, but not before reaching for a nightstick and a taser under the desk. "I'm going to investigate, you stay here and call the cops."

"Sure thing," Hagen replied slowly. The other guard nodded and quickly moved towards the elevator in another hallway blocked off from his view. When the sound of the elevator closing could be heard, the man's body began to rearrange in an elastic fashion. His arms became bigger and his head inflated alongside the rest of his frame. When all was said and done, Clayface was standing heavy and muddy.

Checking to see that the cameras had been turned off for the night, he meandered over to the main computer terminal and clicked his earpiece. "Boss, I think our new friends got to Stagg already."

"Understood, Clayface," Batman replied on the other end. "See if you can turn off the security cameras on the thirtieth floor and above."

"On it." Basil's hand shrunk till it mimicked the hand of the security guard who'd just left. The individual fingers stretched to the keyboard and began clicking through a series of images on the computer screen. He soon came upon the cameras for the 30th floor and enacted them to become off. "Done."

"Alright," Batwing said on the radio frequency. "Meet us there. I'm sure you could find a way to do it."

"Yeah," Clayface said. He trudged over to the elevator and looked up at the vent, which was even smaller than he'd have liked it. Why did the vent he squeezed his body through have to be so small?

"Into the unknown, I guess," he said.

…

Simon Stagg was not a good man. He was the very definition of capitalism at it's worst; a 1% billionaire with no shred of honesty or love for anything except crushing others in the cutthroat business of corporate nature. While he did have a corner of his heart for his daughter Sapphire – and a begrudging respect for her husband Metamorpho – he was generally an unpleasant man.

So as he glanced at the three figures in front of him, one couldn't help but feel a bit of karma was coming his way.

"Joker? Ivy?" Stagg said, fear beginning to cling to his voice. "And I see you've picked up a new partner," he noticed while his eyes gazed at Emerald.

"What can I say? We psychos multiply," Joker said comically.

Emerald did not look amused at all. "Get to your point, Joker. I don't have time to waist." One of her wrist blades shot out in frustration, which was more than enough to spook Stagg into being worried further.

"You're right!" He chuckled and turned to the millionaire with a twisted grin on his clear-white face. "Say, Simon, I've got a lovely idea – I and my friends want to create the best masterpiece this city has seen! Unfortunately, we need your help to do it. What'd ya say?"

"And what makes you think I'll help you?" Stagg breathed. "I'm a businessman, and company policy dictates I don't aid common criminals."

"Funny, because when I think about it, you don't have a choice," Poison Ivy stated. She reached a hand towards him, directing a small weed from the plant in the corner into the air. Thorns grew on the stem as it circled him and gained space. As he braced for a tightening impact, he opened his eyes to find the vine still standing there and taunting him with its stance.

With sweat dripping down his aged face, Stagg sat down at the desk and breathed slowly. "…What is it you want?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Joker said gleefully. "How about access to your premiere chemical facility in the Narrows? It'd be perfect for our plans!"

"You do realize that I won't be able to access the facilities if the workers realize I'm being held against my will," he added.

"Then let's make sure they won't be a problem," said Emerald.

Before anyone else could say something, the farthest office window shattered. The villains and millionaire braced to protect themselves from the glass, unable to see who had gotten into the office. When they lowered their arms, they saw Batman, Garnet, Batwing, and Lapis standing-there seriously.

"Say hello to our little welcoming party," Batwing said. "Though I do recall that we seem to be missing someone."

"Wait up!" The vents bumped and budged as a thick shape poured out slowly, constituting itself into the massive form of Clayface. He sighed and then looked charismatically at the villains. "What'd I miss?"

"What the-?" Ivy gasped in surprise.

"Joker, what are you doing with Stagg?" Batman said seriously, ignoring the villains surprised reactions. "I know you and Emerald are working together."

"A bit cliché, Bats," Joker said, "but yes we are! But it'll be so much fun once we get him to go our dirty work for us! You know, like how it normally is."

Garnet steeped forwards and leveled a thick glove at Emerald. "Emerald, you don't belong here, and neither do us. Give me the container, or I'll make this as painful as possible."

"I expected you all to have perished in that first scuffle," said Emerald. "But if that's not the case, then I'll be only happy to take you down myself." She placed the container on the nearby desk and happily ran at Garnet with her blades extended, the other Gem barely managing to defend herself by blocking. She skidded back and brought one fist to push Emerald upwards through the floors. Garnet herself followed by jumping up through the new hole.

Seeing that one of them was occupied, Batman and Lapis took towards Joker. He giggled before snatching a small water gun inside of his coat and aiming it at them.

"A water gun?" Lapis said. "I control water. That'll be child's play."

"Not when it's acid!" Joker cackled.

"Move!" Batman barked. He vaulted Lapis out of the way as the ripples of green liquid melted where they would've been. Making sure that she was okay, he spun around and dived right into Joker. They crashed into the small office room nearby, the glass door now full of a huge hole.

Batwing and Clayface walked closer to Ivy, currently holding Stagg next to her in a massive vine. She didn't look the least bit remotely fazed about them appearing.

"Give it up, Isley," Batwing said. "I happen to have weed killer up my sleeve."

"A shame I'll have to beat on the techno-wonder and the traitorous mud," she said venomously. "Oh, well." Two massive tendrils reached from the ground and went straight for them. Batwing lifted off the ground and began flying around the room to dodge it, accidentally bumping into some lights in the process. Clayface, meanwhile, made an ax out of his left hand and cut through the vine with ease.

"With all do you stop wrecking my office?!" Stagg yelled. As trapped as he was in Ivy's vine hold, at least it afforded him the ability to be mad.

"Can it, old man!" Ivy said. She jumped out of the range of Clayface's massive punch. However, this wasn't to her advantage as it forced her into the rear corner of the room.

"Ready to call it quits?" He said triumphantly as he stood above her.

"Never!" The villainess raised her hands to reveal a small flower that bloomed dust onto him. Initially coughing, the man of mud collapsed to his knees and began riveting in pain. Ivy simply smirked at her handiwork, barely noticing the horrified reaction of Stagg besides her.

"It's a special fungus from Malaysia," she said. "It feeds on soil…and clay – like a hot knife through butter. Personally, I'm happy it works well on traitors like you. And n- oof!"

Ivy fell to the floor unconscious, her fall due to the actions of Batwing. He landed on top of her and proceeded to fire two small taser darts that sent her into an electrical sleep. "Man, talk about a weed problem. Oh, let me help you with that," he said when he noticed the issues Clayface was having. He knelt to releases small spray that soon faded the fungus from Basil's skin. In a matter of seconds, the pain withered away, and he sat upright.

"Thanks, Luke," Clayface croaked. "That stuff really hurt."

"You're welcome. Now, let's catch up with the others."

Batman ducked and delivered a punch to the Joker's gut, sending him spiraling into the nearby wall. Glass shattered but the Clown still managed to get his bearings in order while turning with a demented smile.

"H…hah. You call that fun, Bats?"

The dark knight moved forward and gripped his enemy by the collar of his purple jacket. "I'm not messing around right now, Joker. You and Emerald are holding onto a dangerous object, not to mention a chemical formula that could cause even more damage. So I won't ask again; what are you PLANNING!?"

The two deadlocked eyes for a moment, and in that short sliver of time, everything seemed to fade into black and pause. Once reality caught up, Joker's damaged face quickly changed into his usual demented grin.

"You…you want to know why I do what I do?" He cackled weakly, spit flying dangerously close to Batman's face in the process. "It's because, without me, there'd be no You…and I love to…spice things up. I'm the white knight to your literal black…get it? Haha!"

"This ain't amusing in the slightest," Batman said.

"Then I guess I'll have to settle for a parting flower!" Joker squeezed the small flower on his coat, spewing out a small steam of acid in the process. Batman managed to get out of the way but suffered a kick from the Clown that sent him backwards.. When he came to, Joker had produced a knife and was pointing it in his direction. "Show me your warrior spirit!" He said in a dangerously sarcastic manner.

…

Several floors above, Garnet dodger a sharp swipe from Emerald's right wrist blade. She looked to make sure nobody was around to get caught in the crossfire. In the process, her specs came to notice the small but growing scene of wrecked desks and workstations nearby. Understanding it was their fight that was the cause of it, she vowed to resolve it soon.

"Emerald, enough!" She jumped forwards and clapped her twin-gauntlets together, sending a small shockwave that knocked the deadly gem villainess into a nearby desk. _So much for keeping property damage at a low,_ Garnet thought bitterly. "You don't belong here. If you give us the container, you have the word of the Crystal Gems that we'll bring you to our Universe."

Emerald shot her a look of pure loathing as she got up, flicking the cracked glass off like it was nothing. "And then what? Do I get poofed? I don't think so. I'd rather stay here and finish my plan if you wouldn't mind."

Garnet growled and lunged towards her enemy. Her fist shot forwards but was surprisingly matched by Emerald's. Both were shot back a handful of inches before retaliating in a series of furious parties and blows. Garnet received two kicks in her stomach and arm, while Emerald was dealt a savage double-punch attack on her entire frame. A small but momentary pause gave her the opportunity to grip Garnett's whole body, lift it over herself, and then chuck it in the direction of the nearest office. With a loud CRASH, Garnet was buried under a small pile of debris.

She stirred and soon got up, the rubble falling off of her. Her specs had cracked a tad and her aura was full of pure anger. It was obvious that Ruby was in control now.

Content with her enemy's restored nature, Emerald moved closer. Her blades extended as she did so and slid along the floor with a small screeching noise.

"When I was on Homeworld, we Emeralds weren't just soldiers to White Diamonds," she said. "We were scientists. And my task was to discuss the idea of weaponizing…Cluster Gems."

"That's why you wanted it in the first place," Garnet realized slowly, the picture beginning to dawn upon her. "You..you turned those criminals into fusion abominations!"

"A test," replied Emerald. "But what fascinates me the most about this dimension is that it is filled with so much untapped by our science. It's the perfect place to vomit my experiment."

Garnet clenched her fists and moved closer in a heavier aura of visible anger. "What are you planning!?" She demanded loudly.

Smirking selfishly, Emerald looked at her. "Gotham is going to be the first base for the new Gem empire. When I release a bio-mutated Cluster-Gem, it will spread throughout the city and take control of everyone – the civilians, the police, the villains – and then spread from there. It will be only a matter of time until all of."

"The Diamonds would never approve of this! Garnet said defiantly. "And even if they did, we won't let you get away with it!"

"I don't care," Emerald said coldly. "I've served them for long enough…time for myself to do what I please." She reaches out her hand, humming slowly but with patience. A second later, the same cluster container appeared out for thin air and flew right into her grasp.

Garnet was shocked. "How?"

"Don't know. Something gave it the power to do that. But what do I care…I've got a job to do, even if it means leaving this fight abruptly."

Emerald began to glow intensely as a white aura appeared around her. Garnet shielded her eyes and waited for it to pass. When it did, however, she was alarmed to discover that all remaining there was a scorch mark on the floor. Looking around the wrecked mess of an office floor, she found the hole they'd come up through and leaped down.

A few floors down, she landed with a thud and turned to find herself in Simon Stagg's office once again. Clayface, Batwing, Lapis, and Batman were standing around looking rather glum. She soon noticed that both Joker and Stagg himself were gone, save for a wrecked desk, an unconscious Ivy, and the shattered balcony window.

"What happened?" Batman asked.

"Emerald…she got away with the container," Garnet got out. "Stagg and Joker disappeared into a white light, didn't they?"

"That's for sure," Lapis said glumly. "Mumbled something about a chemical facility…"

"Batman," Garnet said as she inches closer, "Emerald told me what she's up to. She's going to combine her cluster Gem and Joker's chemical to corrupt all of Gotham. If she isn't stopped-"

"-the damage will be insurmountable," he finished. "I understand. Let's regroup at the Belfry. The rest will need to know sooner rather than later."

The five shuffled out to the lobby, making sure not to accidentally bump into something in the process. Batwing grabbed Ivy and swung her unconscious form over his shoulder as he exited.

…

White light exceeded into plain colors for the vision belonging to Simon Stagg. He landed with a hard thump and massaged his head gingerly. For one second, he hoped that some force had saved him from his captors. Unfortunately, this hope vanished into thin air when he heard a startling candle behind him.

"Were here, Stagg Boy!," Joker said. "Now, time to mix and match our product!"

Simon got up and looked around the massive industrial plant that was part of his company. He walked closer to the door at the end of the hallway and entered his fingerprint upon the door. Hoping he got rejected, to his horror, it instead opened with a small blast of steam. The room was the central mixing chamber for the company's chemicals. Here, they would be able to play god with what they had…and worse.

"Please, don't do this," he pleaded.

"Move, human," breathed Emerald. When he didn't, she slapped him into the wall with her hand. He groaned and fell into unconsciousness. "There's no time to waste, Joker."

"I completely agree. After all, who wouldn't want to make a mess here?" He cackled once more as he revealed the B-62 from within his grasp.

 **Next chapter, the final battle lines are drawn, a horrifying duo is born, and the seeds for a heroic fusion are laid into place. Until next time!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm back, y'all! There are only a few chapters left before this wraps up, but the conclusion will be epic, I promise! Also, I have plans to finish Ant-Aunt and start some other things simultaneously after this, just FYI. Anyways, enjoy and please leave a review or two. They are great!**

"Wait, what?"

Pearl's mental state at the moment could be best described as scrambled. When they'd first come here, she and the other Gems hadn't lowered how much of a threat Emerald was to them and Gotham. But to hear exactly what she planned on doing in person tugged at her moral fibers incredibly. To do that…it was something horrible she hadn't even considered when fighting or making talk.

She stood next to Batwoman and the other assembled heroes in the main room of the Belfry. An air of seriousness has erupted when Batman, Garnet, and the others had returned from Stagg Industries with dire news. Now that the two had told them all, it was beginning to dawn on the assembled how dangerous things were heating up.

"You heard us right," Batman said sternly. "From what Emerald gloated to Garnet, she and Joker are planning to combine her cluster Gem with the B-62."

"And it's a match made for madness," Batwing added. "B-62 causes a chemical metamorphosis that changes the anatomy of whatever it's exposed to in shocking ways. Basically, whatever comes out of their union won't be pretty."

Connie bit her lip nervously, saying "They're planning to turn this entire city...into cluster monsters? Why?"

"The Joker is an obvious maniac, and Emerald wants something we can remember her by," Garnet cut in abruptly. "It's sick and disgusting, not to mention an abomination to all the gems' remains she's violating by doing this. Ugh!" The purple Gem smacked her first into a nearby railing in frustration, causing it to vibrate slightly and warp. Nightwing and Batwoman looked alarmed at her sudden outburst, but Steven knew that she was only losing control because fusion was such a sensitive topic to her.

"Garnet, we can do this," the brunette boy said as he walked towards her with a confident look on his face. "We always pull through when fighting the bad guys. Plus, we've got Batman and all his friends on our side. You just got to believe!"

Garnet's face morphed into a hybrid smile; serious but relieved that Steven was as optimistic as ever. She ruffled his hair casually and moved towards the others, both parts of her braver than ever. "Good talk, Steven. Now let's get down to Earth with our enemies."

"Don't you mean 'Gem to Earth?'" Amethyst asked sarcastically. When no one giggled, she got grumpy. "Whatever."

"Tt," Robin expressed.

"Let's face the facts," said Batgirl abruptly, moving to the middle of the circle. "We know what Joker and Emerald are planning, and we know what they're going to do it with. But WHERE are they doing it?"

Azrael suddenly had a realization. "Stagg has several chemical plants plastered across the city. Perhaps they went to one of them, as they would have the necessary equipment to cross the two items together."

"Don't bother checking," Batwing said from beside him. "I looked and saw six of them closed in the last two years to cut costs. The only Stagg Industries chemical facility in Gotham is the one located on the edge of Miagani Coast North. Looks pretty big, too." He flicked the hologram of a massive industrial complex into the air for everyone to see. It was shaped like a castle but without the edges, patterns, and spires one would normally have. Smack dab in the middle was a cup-shaped chamber that looked particularly important. "Oh, and they've got a central mixing chamber that, you guessed it, incorporates chemicals into each other."

"Guess we're about to find out what happens when you combine a chemical with a reproducing parasite," said Connie.

"Knights, it's time," Batman commanded as he walked into the middle and gained everyone's attention. "If we don't stop Joker and Emerald's plot, Gotham could become ground zero for an infestation that will bring death and destruction. We can't allow that. I won't allow it. You know what do - so let's get it done."

"So just another Tuesday for us," Clayface croaked. "no biggie."

"Not if you get turned into a cluster monster," replied Lapis.

"Truth," Orphan said.

"Hey, it's a sense of humor, okay?" he responded with a tint of humor in his voice.

As everyone filed towards the hallway, Garnet felt a hand on her shoulder and looked at Batman. She nearly believed it was her future vision for a second before brushing it off. His gaze like steel, he motioned to the corner to the right of the door. She followed and folded her arms as he began to talk. "Garnet, when we confront Emerald...what do you plan on doing with her?"

"Poofing her and taking her back to the Temple on our Earth," Garnet replied nonchalantly.

"What is poofing?"

"When we defeat a gem's physical form - akin to mortally injuring another life-form - they become rock and take time to regenerate. If we place them in a bubble, they can't reform and are basically left in there forever."

"Hmmm," he replied. "I just wanted to make sure-"

"-that we don't kill?" Garnet said, finishing his sentence surprisingly quick. "I understand that we might be aliens on your turf, but we NEVER shatter gems. It's wrong and defies who we are." After a few moments of silence, she turned to catch up with the others. "See you out there."

Batman began following her out, only to find that Steven had been watching the entire conversation and was gazing him intently. "Shouldn't you be with the others?" he asked gruffly.

"I can catch up on Lion," Steven said as he pointed to the giant pink cat sleeping near the hallway entrance. "Anyways, I was waiting for you. You need someone to watch your back."

"I appreciate your concern, but I'll be-"

"That's not what I meant," said Steven. "I don't know you, but whenever I see you, I feel like there's all this pain underneath your mask. Just...you don't have to keep it bottled up. I want to help with stuff. It can be weird and crazy, but it's also fun. It's how I met Connie and turned Peridot into a good gem."

Batman thought of Steven's words silently before starting to smirk. "That's kind. Right now…" he was careful on how to say it to the boy. "...I am dealing with it, always, but having someone know about it is better than the alternative."

Steven smiled. "You're welcome. Anyways, we should probably catch up. You want a ride on Lion?"

A smile crept upon the dark knight's face. After all, how could he say no?

"Sure."

…

"How much longer is this going to take?" Joker asked. "You do realize that I have plans to use this on THE WHOLE CITY?!"

"You're impatient for a comedian," Emerald remarked snidely. "Just a little bit longer before we're done." She adjusted some controls at the Central mixing chamber as the chemicals began to dilute and merge with one another. A few feet away from the glass, the two marveled at the slowly changing mix of colors being forced into the cluster gem. When the colors had become a dark green with hints of black, gas began to sizzle from the gem and radiated into the air. A few seconds later, the gas disappeared and the cluster gem stopped moving, its feeble efforts from the transformation gone. Emerald smiled and opened the hatch with the lever. As the belt moved it out through the side, she grabbed it quickly, not worrying about gloves due to her Gem genetics.

"I give you one cluster gem, changed to infect and merge with everything in this city. In this world," she reiterated heavily.

"Bravo," Joker applauded grinning. "Now, if you'd just hand that over to me, I'd be much obliged to have some fun!"

For whatever reason, time seemed to slow as he moved closer with his eager hands outstretched. Emerald's temple began to get hotter and her body more rigid. She knew that it was now or never. When she'd agreed to Joker's plan all that time ago, she'd decided to use the cluster gem only for herself. She didn't have any uses left for him. And if he had a problem with that, then he'd learn why nobody messed with her.

Emerald open hand shot up and slapped his gloves away. As he recoiled with a tint of a darker expression on his face, she gave him a look that might've shocked Yellow Diamond into submission. "I don't think so, clown. This is where our alliance ends."

Joker's face turned from shock into comedic bewilderment. "Planning to betray me? Hah! and what makes you think that you can cut me out of our deal? In case you haven't wondered, I've killed anybody who's ever betrayed me! You can try your luck out if you want, but I wouldn't push it."

"Raaaghhhh!" Emerald ran at Joker and with one hand clutching the cluster gem unleashed her free wrist blade. She swung it at him, but he managed to dodge and got out what a small vial of Joker gas. He smashed it on the nearby wall, allowing it to filter through.

"I'm immune to your laughing gas, idiot!" Emerald cried angrily. Putting all of her anger into her hand, she did a backhand slap that sent Joker plummeting into the farthest wall of the chamber. Blood spilled from his nose and onto his purple coat. When he realized that it was now a darkening red blot, his eyes seized with laughter.

"You annoying brat! That's it! You're dead for all I care!"

Surprisingly, Joker couldn't so much as get up; before he knew what was happening, Emerald was hoisting him up in the air with her free arm. She applied pressure to his neck, leaving him gasping for air. The sight of the clown suffering sent waves of satisfaction through her.

"You're of no further use to me, Joker. While you may have been charismatic, I'm afraid you're nothing more than a liability now. A liability I must deal with myself." Her grip on his white neck began to increase, threatening to crack his lungs sooner or later.

"...Heh…..now that's...funny," he managed to wheeze out.

"What?" Emerald commanded in a tense tone.

"...That...hah!" He croaked with a small laugh, pointing to her arm. Emerald looked down and was shocked to see that the cluster gem was starting to shift, changing color every second. Before she could put it down, the gem began to melt onto her arm. She attempted to fling it off, but the semi-liquid substance was already spreading across her appendage and torso.

"What? No!...Get off me!" she shouted. The mass of cluster substance had already spread to her legs and slowly made its way to Joker's body, spreading from his neck down.

"One last joke to go out on!" He managed to say before the black substance overtook his face completely. Emerald had already been swallowed by the black, leaving her frozen.

Where the two had been was now a massive cast of two figures. Immovable and unable to talk, the blob suddenly began stretching and glowing. Screams could be heard from the inside as the color changed yet again.

Something wicked was coming, and Stagg Industries would soon be the battleground for its wrath.

 **Next time: our heroes come face to face with a terrifying new villain...**


	14. Chapter 14

**I know, it's been a while, but now I'm back and close to finishing this story up! It's been fun and I'm making more plans each day for my fanfic future! Please review or respond if you can, it's awesome to hear your responses!**

"Nightwing, what do you see?" Pearl asked.

"Looks pretty much the same," he replied. "That's one big chemical factory." Dick's vision shifted to the massive industrial complex that was Stagg Industries. Two large cylindrical towers stood above them in an intimidating duo. The large sign was nailed into the middle of the building's giant entrance hall, and it looked just as worrisome as its corrupt boss.

"So where is this central mixing chamber?" Amethyst asked innocently.

"Should be right there," Batgirl said, pointing to the circular chamber between the towers. She started walking towards the building before a scream echoed in everyone's ears.

"What was that?" Peridot asked worriedly. Garnet bumped her fists and Batwoman swerved out a Batarang.

"That!" exclaimed Robin, pointing at the small crowd of worried workers running in terror from the seemingly nice factory. Some screamed and other were hysterical, but they all were intent on getting away as soon as possible.

"What's going on here?" Batman asked a worker bluntly, grabbing her arm in order to slow her down.

"Something crazy's happening inside!" The worker exclaimed frantically. "The Joker and some green lady got into the Central mixing chamber and created...something that enveloped the whole place! It was too dangerous – we had to initiate emergency protocols and escape!"

Before another word could be said, a creeping sound was heard. The Gems and Knights looked ominously on when the massive factory chamber began to crumble like a house of cards. As the building shredded from the inside out, what appeared to be two black hands started reaching up and gripped onto the edges of the remaining ruins.

"HAH!" was all that could be heard from it. A look of horror originated on Batman's face when he heard the cry.

"No…" was all he managed to get out.

Steven, looking worried, asked, "Batman, what do you think that was?"

"There's only one explanation," Azrael pointed out. "Something must have gone wrong with their plan." His grip on his sword intensified, causing it to burst into flame as a result.

"Sounds like those clods got more than they bargained for," Peridot pointed out.

"Maybe," Orphan said.

A screech was heard from the wrecked building once the sections of Stagg Enterprises fell apart, bit by bit. The dust of the falling walls and insides swept towards the heroes, but Clayface managed to protect everyone by morphing into a muddy barrier. When he retracted back, the heroes were bewildered to look upon the complete degradation of what had once been there. Computers, chemicals, and other appliances were now mere bits inside the large pile of debris.

More alarming, however, was the massive monster standing above the pile. The creature looked like a bad combination of Joker and Emerald, and indeed they were; they had a green-purple color scheme, clothing consisting of jagged spikes and long drapes of dark values. Green chalk was the skin color, and their dark leaf hair moved in the wind. Furthermore, red blades were mounted on their wrists in the fashion of a swordsman.

"What is that?" Connie asked worriedly. "Another gem?"

"Not just any Gem…a Cluster Fusion," Steven answered. He was terrified just looking at them, as Joker and Emerald's forced merge was chilling him to the core.

"We have to stop them," Batwoman said. "If they get any farther from this factory, and go towards the city…"

The massive cluster gem took a step forwards before gazing down at the groups, smiling evilly. Joker's trademark grin was full of shiny green teeth, but they looked even worse than before due to their jagged nature.

"HAH! HAH! HAH!" The titan bellowed. Suddenly, their gaze shuffled to Gotham and their eyes sparkled in realization. "PEOPLE...TEST SUBJECTS...TO MAKE LAUGH! HAH!"

"I'm no psychologist, but I'm pretty sure this cluster gem's stuck between their thoughts," remarked Connie.

"Maybe that's it," Batgirl realized. "Because the transformation was against their wishes, their minds are resisting it down to deciding a single thought."

"That's still doesn't tell us how to take them down," Peridot remarked.

"When we've faced a cluster gem, the best way to defeat it is with enough force," Peal said. "This being the case...I've never fought one this big."

The massive titan suddenly brought forward one of their feet, causing a small amount of seismic activity that rocked the heroes. Their other one started moving as they said, "ERINITE...MAKE PEOPLE LAUGH! HAH!"

"Watch out!" Batwing called as he flew out of the second foot's way. Everyone else managed to run, duck, or jump out of their spot before the ground where they'd been was flattened by the massive appendage.

"Here's the plan," Batman said directly to everyone. "We'll split into groups to take...Erinite down. Robin, Azrael, and Pearl, you focus on the arms. Lapis, Orphan, and Connie, work on keeping them distracted. Amethyst, Clayface, and Garnet, take down their legs. As for the rest of you-"

"Wait!" Steven remembered. "We still need to find the container! Maybe it's in the wreckage or something!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Universe," Robin said abruptly. "Look." He pointed at the back of Erinite's head, and it could be seen that in-between the green hairs there was a black mass that had a transparent container in the middle. Steven and Connie's jaws dropped, while Garnet was breathless.

"Robin, you and Steven work on taking the container out of his head," Batwoman dictated. Before the grandson of the demon could retort, she ran towards Erinite at full speed. "Let's go, everyone!"

…

Commissioner Gordon was having a hectic day (or night, if that term seemed more appropriate). In addition to dealing with public opinions towards Batman and the regular heat from city hall, he also had the kidnapping of Simon Stagg and a terrorist attack in the Narrows on his hands. Oh, and two of his finest had nearly gotten killed in the last hour by mutated Arkham criminals. Really, what the hell was going on? Were Gotham's villains becoming junkies or something?

He flipped through a series of files before his door burst open. He looked up irritability to see a rookie police officer whose name he didn't remember standing in the doorway.

"What is it?" He asked crankily.

"Sir, we've gotten reports that Stagg Industries' chemical mixing factory just...collapsed," the beat officer breathed. She looked serious.

Gordon took a second to process what she had just said, choosing to try to keep his patience as he replied, "Umm...how?!"

"Witnesses are reporting that there was a chemical meltdown and that something huge came out of it," the beat cop replied. "Sir, what do we do?"

"Call for Special Crimes and the nearest patrols, and get me a line for the D.E.O. on standby," Gordon breathed as he got his coat. He grabbed a cigar and then headed to the door, making sure to give room for the patrol officer to move behind him. "God, it's like the Monster Men all over again."

…

Erinite smashed a massive blade into the wrecked ground that Connie had been standing on. Luckily, she managed to roll out of the way and caught her breath. Waving her pink sword, she called mockingly "What, that's the best you've got?"

"ERINITE CRUSH!" The massive fusion bellowed in anger. Having gotten what she wanted, Connie darted around the cluster monster, not wanting to stick around the same place for too long. She caught sight of Orphan and Lapis up ahead and bolted towards them.

"Guys, I got their attention!" She screamed.

"That's the point!" Lapis yelled back while flying upwards. Once at the right height, the water gem secreted two massive water orbs and shot them at Erinite. The water splashed across the monster's face but had very little effect apart from irritating it further.

"Not good," Orphan deadpanned.

"Yeah, I got it!" Lapis retorted. She suddenly caught note of Erinite swiping at her and narrowly dodged their fingers, flying down to the ground where he partners were. "Who's taking care of the arm?"

"I am!" Azrael shouted from on top of Erinite's dark green appendage. He darted towards the torso and quickly jumped when the arm twisted upwards. He managed to grab onto it with his hands but was left dangling as Erinite brought it down again in an attack directed towards the others. Seeing that his window of opportunity was closing, he gripped his sword with his free hand and drove it into the arm hard. Erinite screamed, but he kept on pushing it deeper and deeper in, the flames searing what he could see from his position. When he'd dug in up to the hilt, Azrael removed it and fell to the ground. Luckily, he managed to shoot his grapnel in the nick of time and land on a patch of destroyed pavement nearby.

His eyes darted to the other arm, on which Pearl was located. She was about to attack it from the center when her foundation rocked. She barely clung on as Erinite screamed again, upset with the attack on its right appendage.

"I can't attack the arm if the legs are moving!" Pearl screamed.

"Got it!" Amethyst responded down below. The purple gem took a glance at Erinite's towering legs and darted towards them, morphing hallway into a sinister-looking spiked ball. She collided with Erinite's right shin, causing the cluster fusion to laugh into agony and then pain. As Amethyst whirled around for another strike, she caught sight of Clayface and Garnet both striking the other leg intensely.

"Garnet, watch out!"

Garnet saw her ally careening towards them and leaped out of the way, signaling Clayface to do so as well. When Amethyst hit the leg, the others' attacks had already weakened it, and with both of their legs hurting, Erinite buckled down onto the ground. The movement generated a small dust cloud that spread out and covered everyone, eventually dissipating.

"Pearl, do it now!" Garnet yelled.

Pearl nodded, producing her trident from her gem and stabbing down on Erinite's arm. As the scream from Erinite was heard, Pearl removed the rident and struck another spot, then another down towards the fingers. Deciding that was enough, she gripped her weapon and jumped to the ground several feet below.

Now with hurting arms and legs that couldn't function, Erinite looked madder than ever. Their green hair was a mess, and the wrist blades were chipped to almost nothing. They bellowed "ERINITE MAKE LAUGH! MAKE LAUGH!"

"Everyone, let's go!" Batwoman cried before flying towards the half-beaten villain. As everyone followed her in the attack, Erinite was unable to notice the two young boys floating up behind its head - Steven and Robin.

"Can't you float faster?" asked Robin. He hung from Steven's torso and looked down as they levitated closer.

"I'm working on it," Steven replied. "Just- hey! There it is!"

The two had happened upon the keratin bump the container was in, but it looked like it was somehow ingrained into Erinite's scalp. Steven reached a hand and felt the outside of the bump, feeling a moving vibe from inside of it.

"It feels like the container is...moving?" asked Steven unsuredly.

"Then let's try the direct approach," Robin said bluntly. He grabbed his sword, inched closer, and swung at the black goo holding the container in place. Unfortunately, the container was still stuck to the scalp; what had happened was that white cracks were now showing and began lighting up. The glow got in both boys' eyes, causing them to glance away and slightly lose their balance.

In front of them, Erinite screamed a massive cry, part laugh, and part anger, before something even worse happened. What had been beaten and hurt regenerated quicker than the heroes anticipated. Then Erinite stopped and realized something; lifting up their left hand, they reached back towards the two boys.

Robin lowered his hand in time to see Erinite's large green fingers zeroing in on the two of them. With no time to spare, he bolted into Steven and knocked both of them off the arm. As they started falling, Damian managed to fire his grapnel at the nearest lamp post some feet away. The grapnel connected, and while their landing caused them to land face-first into the ground, it was at least without any major injuries.

Brushing off the dirt on his face, Robin turned to Steven. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah...thanks," Steve replied.

At a loss for words, Robin said, "...come on! There's no time to waste!" And with that, the heir to the dark knight took off running back to the situation.

Batman, Garnet, and everyone else were gathered in front of Erinite, looking taller and meaner than ever before. Worried, Batwoman asked," what's happening to him, Garnet?"

"I wouldn't know," she replied. "This never happened with a cluster gem before."

"Maybe that's because you're are looking at it the wrong way," Peridot interjected.

"Excuse me?" Batgirl asked.

"Well, from the looks of it," she replied, "brute force isn't working - at least at this size."

"HEROES...NOT GOING...TO STOP MY JOKE!" The massive cluster Gem demanded. "YOU'RE ALL GOING DOWN!"

Erinite reached out their arms and opened its mouth. Everyone's misconceptions were changed when a stream of chaotic blue energy shot from their jaws. The energy struck at the crowd, hitting everyone and causing great gasps of pain. Luckily for Steven, Robin was quick enough to push him some feet away from the blast. When Steven came to, the heroes were strewn across the ground, unconscious and wracked with pain.

"No...no, no, no!" Steven exclaimed.

"ERINITE FREE! HAH!" Content with their quick defeat of the heroes, the monster turned and began walking seismically towards the city entrance, an air of victory filling it up. There was almost nothing between them and spreading their ideas.

Steven looked on at the departing monster, his mind in complete denial. How...why had they fallen so quickly after fighting their hardest? But what was even worse a thought was that Erinite was getting closer to the people of Gotham, and they could do nothing...nothing.

A low groan made him turn, and to his shock, see Garnet starting to get up. He ran over and helped her, making sure to give her time to breath. "You okay, Garnet?" he asked worriedly.

"Peachy," she replied. Seeing the rest of the party unconscious, her jaw tightened. Then she looked to the right and gazed at the slowly shrinking figure of Erinite in the distance. "Oh, no…"

"Garnet, they're getting away...what should we do?"

"We don't give up." Both turned and were shocked to see Batman standing there. He clutched his left rib, obviously injured but still conscious and standing. "It's up to us now."

"Wait," Steven said. "Garnet, couldn't you turn into Alexandrite with Pearl and Amethyst?"

"They're unconscious, Steven," Garnet replied. "I can't turn into a fusion without dancing. And...that's it!"

"What's it?" Batman asked.

Garnet turned to him and paused. What she was about to tell him would be a shock, as well as something he shouldn't have been forced into. But with things the way they were, it was their only option.

"If we're going to save Gotham, then you and Steven need to dance."


	15. Chapter 15

**Happy easter! This chapter took a while, and I'm proud of it. Anyways, enjoy!**

"What are you talking about?" Batman asked.

Garnet folded her arms stoically. "Two gems must dance if they want to fuse. I can't fuse with you because you're human, but Steven's half-human DNA would allow for it."

Steven gulped, scratching his neck in the process. "So…you're saying we need…to fuse?"

"I know it seems scary," Garnet said, "but it's the only way."

 _Yeah, if by the only way you mean trusting somebody I don't fully know._ Steven was astonished at what Garnet was proposing, but then he remembered how he'd felt when he'd first done it with Connie – a sense of breathtaking awe and wonder. If he could do that to help Gotham – and maybe give Batman some fun- then he would try, at least.

"Batman…would you be up for this?" He asked shyly. He held his hand out to the Dark Knight, who looked at it with apprehension.

"Son, I get that you want-"

"Do you trust me?" Steven asked again.

Blinking, Batman sighed and walked to Steven's spot. He held out his hands and bent over, allowing Steven to grasp them. The boy began to move merrily and started walking in a circle. Batman tried his best to keep up and felt the energy from Steven's hands, surprised slightly at the feeling. As they continued, Steven became merrier and the dark knight found his spirit to be lighter than ever.

But there was still something in him. A grim shadow of his soul that didn't take kindly to what was happening. It was so alien that part of him almost wanted to get away from all of this. Steven could feel the pushback as he continued circling around, knowing that something in Batman wasn't giving

"Push through it," Garnet said from next to them. "Let go of everything you know and only focus on the positive. Then let your fusion become from that."

Batman turned his attention back to Steven, who was smiling and blushing while continuing to circle around. In a way, the look in Steven's face gave him a fond memory of the happiness he'd had before his parents died. And somehow, it continued to grow within him until it became as large as himself.

Then and there, the two people let go of who they were and reveled in their potential. Garnet was awestruck as a blob of white energy grew in shape. Curves and lines pushed until a humanoid silhouette was present. Before she could even speak, the process ended, and standing in front of her was a new fusion. It looked like Steven had grown several inches to manhood, wearing a black long-sleeve shirt with a yellow bat on it. His hair was jet brown and short, looking like it had been combed for the occasion. Dark shades covered his eyes, his pants were a darker shade of blue and tattered, and black boots rested upon the ground. A long and dense scarf of crimson color rested across his neck, slightly dangling in the wind's direction.

"Whoa," a mature and adult voice said from the new fusion. "This is all so…new…"

Garnet stepped forward unsurely and raised a hand, getting their attention. "Who are you?" She asked.

The fusion started pondering that exact wording. It could feel a hundred suggestions arising in its head, yet none seemed accurate. Then one suddenly came to mind, and it fit perfectly. A smile erupted on the fusion's lips as it looked upon Garnet.

"I… am Darknight Universe."

"Mmm…good choice," she replied thoughtfully. "Do you think you have it in you to stop Erinite?"

Darknight Universe turned and saw the huge path of destruction the monster had left in its wake. Their face slightly tightening, the fusion held out its right hand, summoning a pink shield made in the symbol of a bat. "Count on it."

…

"Oh my god!"

"Run!"

"Mommy!"

"What is that?"

Gotham's King square was in a state of panic. People were running as huge pieces of debris flew or blocked the ground. Standing there was the towering monstrosity, Erinite, laughing maniacally while slashing and slicing away at the civilians nearby. Those who weren't hurt still had to contend with explosions and flying cars, and it wasn't any easier.

The GCPD was positioned from several spots on the ground and the building's nearby, but so far had no luck. Most of their heavy weapons were barely scratching Erinite's skin. When a small missile hit one of their arms, the fusion monster turned and sent a long blade towards the police. They barely made them out of the way before the blade went halfway through the building the cops had been on.

Having been watching from the ground, Gordon's mind went into panic mode. He would've made a hasty decision had it not been for the hand tapping on his shoulder. He turned and saw what was Renee Montoya, a bandage on her head but still determined.

"Montoya!" He said in surprise. "What are you doing? You should be resting!"

"That thing's stretching us too thin, Commissioner," Renee replied. "And all due respect, but I want to help even if I'm injured."

"Sir!" One of the S.W.A.T. Officers rapped Gordon's shoulder hard, then pointed at the top of the nearby buildings. "What is that?"

Gordon and Montoya squinted their eyes as something flew at incredible speed towards the square. When it started to zoom in, Gordon began to make out that it was a young man who wore black clothing and seemed to be wearing a red scarf. And he had a yellow…bat on his chest?

"Another bat vigilante?" Gordon asked under his breath.

Erinite seemed to notice that things were changing, too, because they turned in time to see Darknight Universe fly right for them. The heroic fusion quickly formed their pink bat shield, hitting Erinite with enough force in the stomach to send them rocketing backward. The massive monster tumbled and crashed into a building, the local civilians making it out the way in time. Erinite gritted their teeth before bellowing in annoyance.

"NOT FUNNY!"

Darknight Universe floated down and looked straight up to Erinite, their gaze as cold as stone. "This stops now, Erinite. We won't let you pervert Gotham City."

"Hah!" Erinite bellowed in amusement, stopped a second later by the pain they felt. "YOU…WANT TO STOP EXPERIMENT? THEN ERINITE CRUSH YOU!"

Darknight Universe glared daggers before extending both of their arms. Two bat shields of pink color appeared on both. They jumped back as the titan brought their fists down on where they were. The fusion turned and ran to the right of Erinite. Once they reached the side of the monster, Darknight Universe aimed a hand and shot one of their shields at the enemy. It hit with surprising accuracy in a pink explosion. Erinite shrieked in pain and tumbled a bit, sending a shockwave throughout the ground.

With an opportunity, Darknight Universe looked past Erinite and shouted: "Garnet, now!"

Garnet leaped from one of the police vehicles and soared ferociously through the air. Erinite, being in pain from the attack, barely got wind of Garnet before she collided with their face.

"Ugggggghhhhh!" Garnet's thrashing of their face sent the monstrous titan back into the very building it had nearly sliced in two. A groaned cackle came from the cluster as it attempted to get up.

Darknight Universe ran up to Garnet, and both watched as Erinite stood once again.

"What's your plan?" Garnet asked her new ally.

"We get to the back of Erinite's head and fully remove the cluster container," they answered bluntly. "Then we can finish this for good."

"Agreed," Garnet said as she cracked her knuckles.

From behind them, Gordon, Renee, and the other cops watched in awe at what was happening. Renee, in particular, was shocked, for what she'd believed about those terrorists seemed to be..wrong? If they were actively working to keep the city safe from this monster, then…maybe she'd judged them wrongly?

"We're going to let this play out," Gordon stated firmly to the nearest S.W.A.T. officer.

"But sir-"

"Save it. They've got a plan, and we can't really do much else."

As the crowd of police and conscious civilians watched, the monster finally righted themselves, struggling to do so in the process. The moment they locked eyes with Garnet and Darknight Universe, Erinite looked angrier than ever.

"NOT FUNNY!" They bellowed. "IF WE CAN'T HAVE FUN…"

Their eyes wandered until they locked upon Wayne Tower in the distance, and a sinister thought went into their head.

..THEN NOBODY CAN!" With that, Erinite took off running towards the edge of the plaza that leads to Wayne Tower.

"Go! I'll hold them off," shouted Garnet. She tensed as the titan approached before jumping up high. At the sight of the fusion, Erinite grimaced and waved a swift blade at her. It was only by crossing her gauntlets that Garnet able to block the blade, but barely. The blow sent her crashing hundreds of yards away and into a nearby fashion building.

Seeing no other option, Darknight Universe bolted after Erinite by running from trashed vehicle to vehicle, gaining speed in their run. When they had had enough, the heroic fusion leaped up and used the momentum to float faster than ever before towards Erinite. Air passed by while the enemy got closer, and in no time at all, Darknight Universe has landed on Erinite's back.

They were so preoccupied with bolting to Wayne Tower and causing chaos in the street that they didn't notice the being who was crawling up their back. This gave Darknight Universe the opportunity they needed to climb quickly and efficiently. In no time at all, they'd reached the back of Erinite's Head, as well as the familiar cluster wart.

Extending their arms, Darknight Universe created two pink bat shields and prepped them in place. "Time to finish this," they said before digging them in with a ferocity never before seen.

What anybody saw next was a bright white glow, and that's when everything changed.

…

Steven gingerly massaged his head and opened his eyes. He was on the ground, but it wasn't Gotham…everything here was dark green and black. As he looked around, his fear and paranoia increased. Had they failed? Was Gotham defenseless?

"Steven," said Batman from behind him. "Get up. It looks like..we're inside Erinite."

Helping himself up, Steven saw exactly what Batman was saying. Form the looks of it, they were somehow in Erinite's head. The room had a small ball of glowing yellow light that seemed to be centralizing everything. In the far corner were two black cocoons, likely holding Joker and Emerald in their grasp.

" **Why do you attack me?"** A voice sounded from the glowing ball of yellow light. Batman and Steven, shocked at the sudden chatter, looked at each other and walked towards it unsurely.

"You…you can talk?" Steven asked timidly.

" **I am sentient, yes** ," the ball answered. " **I have been inside container for millennia. Container was corrupted by a cluster and housed by the Gem race. Recently merged with two individuals. Now on course to expand consciousness. Container still wondering why was attacked."**

"We attacked you because your putting people in danger," Batman said. "You need to stop before you make things worse."

"You got hijacked by bad people," Steven added. "They only wanted to use you for destruction."

" **But…this destruction…logical?** " The light asked. **"They desired Container to have purpose. Isn't container logical?"**

"Look…" Steven said. "I know that when you're a fusion, things feel so new. You just want to stretch your legs and do stuff you've never done before. But you can also make mistakes the same way as before. I…I'm not saying that you're not logical, but if that has to come at the price of others…then it's not worth it."

" **What would being recommend to container?"**

Steven thought for a second before an idea lit up in his mind. He turned around with a hopeful smirk and said," what if we poof and bubble you? We could take you back to the temple and leave you there, to be peaceful by yourself and logical all you want."

The light flickered several times before it flowed slightly brighter. " **Being…conclusion logical."**

All around them, the room began to rumble and move. Large pink cracks began to show inside the room and the two pods that the villains had been in slowly reversed. Batman gripped Steven and faced him.

"Steven, we need to wake up! I know you can do it!" He said quickly.

"I don't know how!" Steven said.

"You just said all that talk about being yourself while looking out for others. I know you have the heart to do this." He pointed a gloved hand at Steven's chest and held it down hard. Steven shed a tear and affectionately wiped it away before smiling.

"Oh…okay," he said determinedly. Turning to the room, Steven closed his eyes and felt for what he needed. Batman shut his as well, and everything went back into darkness.

Back to the fusion.

Back to the situation

Back…

To the battle.

…

Across town, the rest of the heroes had begun to wake up. Most of them quickly saw the path of destruction that Erinite had left in their wake and assumed the worst. Their faith was restored, however, when a bright glow quickly panned out from the heart of the city and then faded.

Connie was puzzled at the event. "What just happened?"

"Why don't we find out?" asked Nightwing.

…

The eyes under Darknight Universe's shades opened, and just in time. Seeing that their shield had severed the container – dripping with black goop – the heroic fusion quickly tucked it underneath their right arm and jumped away to the ground. As for Erinite, the monster was already coming apart. Attempting to run further, they had frozen in place and could only grimace as their form started changing into white.

"HAH! NOOO-" Erinite's words were cut off as they finally lost all form and exploded int cluster pieces that went everywhere. Thankfully, the shards didn't hit anyone in their path, resorting instead to shatter as they hit the pavement. As people looked out for possible signs of safety, a small cloud of dust evaporated and revealed the figure of Darknight Universe.

They looked around and sighed in relief when they realized that nobody had been hurt. Ignoring the pleas of thankfulness and curiosity pouring in from the civilians, they turned and saw that lying on the ground was none other than an unconscious Emerald. The very sight of her sent shockwaves through them before a similar white glow enveloped the heroic fusion. Within a moment, they were back to being Batman and Steven once again.

"Whoa," Steven said. "That sure was an experience."

"An enlightening one," said Batman. "Good work."

Blushing, Steven replied, "You too."

"I can attest to that as well," said the approaching Garnet. Giving the two a thumbs up, she bent over and got a better look at the unconscious Emerald. It gave her a feeling of satisfaction to be there, victorious, when her future vision had said something different.

"Hey, where'd Joker go?" pointed out Steven.

Batman and Garnet exchanged worried glances before the dark knight noticed a playing card lying on the ground. Feeling that something was on it, he picked it up and flipped it to read the other side. Scribbled on the back side was a message in red marker-

 _It was fun, Bats, but I've got places to be. Y'know how these things work. Though I'll be seeing you soon…_

 _Joker._

"Hhhh," Batman growled. When the other two looked at him, he simply put the card in his pocket and sighed. "He got away."

"Knowing him, he's bound to pop up sooner or later." The trio whirled around to see Batwoman, the rest of the Gems and some members of the bat family walking towards them, looking content. Garnet looked up and saw that a couple of the heroes were watching from the rooftop, most likely wanting to stay out of the spotlight. "By the way, never thought you'd be the one to turn into a fusion."

"It was an experience, that's all I can say," Batman said.

Pearl and the other Gems looked awestruck at this, then turned to Steven. "You fused? Steven, you fused with ANOTHER human?"

"Dude, that's way cool!" Amethyst said enthusiastically.

"Yeah! It was…enlightening," added Steven.

The group suddenly noticed that the police were coming closer, and some couldn't help but tense up because of the past experience. However, the cops didn't keep their weapons up. Instead, Gordon and Montoya walked towards them with hands outstretched.

"On behalf of the Gotham Police Department, I want to say…thank you," said Gordon. "I don't know who you are, but you helped Batman save our city from whatever that was. That deserves commendation. So again, thank you."

"And I want to say…I'm sorry," Renee added. "I judged you in the heat of a situation when you were really trying to help. Even us cops make mistakes."

Garnet smiled as she grasped Renee's hand in a friendly manner. "I understand. We Crystal Gems don't always make good first impressions, but we're committed to doing our job."

Connie turned to Steven, gripping his hand in a curious way. "Steven…what now?"

The boy was just about to ask that when he realized something and knelt down on the ground. Standing back up, Steven held the cluster container up so everyone could see. It was significantly less gooey, and the inside looked much cleaner.

"Huh," Peridot commented. "Not as big as I imagined."

"Wait," Nightwing asked, "does this do what I think it can do?"

In something that was definitely out of his character, Batman turned and smiled at Steven. "It means you can go home."


	16. Chapter 16

**Wow! It's been one fun ride, guys, and I'm proud to have made this fanfic** **! Thank you to everyone who reviewed and followed this story! I loved doing this dream crossover, and I'm more excited for what I'm planning coming up!**

Once Erinite had been defeated, the heroes had scrambled back to the Belfry and hastily began their work. With Emerald under lock and key, Batwing and Batgirl worked with Pearl to somehow use the container as a bridge to their dimension. The three brainiacs spent several hours in Luke's room, sparks and mechanical sounds traveling into the hallway as they worked. The rest of the adventurers were waiting outside or blowing off steam, eager to know how things were going.

Batman was still reeling from the process of fusion, which he found to be…conflicted on. One one hand, the feelings he had sensed during it were inspiring, given that they were a perspective not of his own accord. Conversely, he also felt that being back in his own skin was more comfortable.

His view glanced down the hall and across the various pairs that had sprung up from the groups. Steven was conversing with Robin and Connie, chatting about the battle and how Damian would've done things differently. Across from them, Lion was sound asleep as Orphan gingerly nuzzled his hair with her hand, and Azrael and Nightwing talked with Peridot about the specs of the Belfry. Somewhere in his grimacing attitude, there was appreciation at how everyone had bonded in ways that defied expectations.

He turned and walked down further to the end of the hall, winding up in the main lobby room. His eyes widened as he saw Garnet and Amethyst standing with Batwoman and Clayface, the four around an unconscious Emerald lying on the floor. Garnet coughed and motioned with her fists as to what she was about to do.

"It won't kill her?" Batwoman asked.

"No," said Garnet. "She'll lose her appearance, but she'll still be alive, just in her base form. Bubbling her will keep her from reforming."

"Think of it as a long nap," Amethyst added.

When no one else commented, Garnet readied her fists and lifted them in anticipation. Bringing them down in a swift yet brutal motion, the warrior smashed into Emerald's torso. Her eyes opened in sudden shock, but it was too late; a moment later, what had been there exploded into a small green gem lying on the ground. Amethyst took no time in bending down and tapping the Gem, causing it to be covered in a pink bubble that floated to everyone's heights.

"And to think all a' this trouble came about because a' her," Clayface lamented. "Good thing she's down for the count."

"I couldn't agree more, Batman said as he joined them. "I take it you can keep her somewhere…secure in your world?"

Garnet smiled as she scooped up the poofed and bubbled Emerald in her grasp. "You can bet on that."

…

Steven looked up at the walls of the Belfry and gripped them. Even though they'd managed to stop the threat from hurting everyone he knew, he still felt uneasy. All his mind could picture was his father, Greg, and how worried he must've been with them not there. How long has it been in Beach City? Days? A week? He didn't want to think about it, but the more restless he got, the more it returned to pick at his mind.

"Steven?"

He whirled around to find Connie, situated against the railing he was nearby. "You okay?" She asked concernedly.

"Sorta," he replied. "I'm just hoping we can back soon…it's scary thinking of my dad all alone out there, not knowing where we are…"

"Don't worry," Connie assured him as she gripped his hand, "well get back. Those guys are probably smart enough to figure that out. And wasn't coming here kind of cool? We made some new friends!

Steven's face lit up, occurring to him that she was right. "Yeah!"

Further conversation was interrupted when the running of a certain vigilante alerted both to an incoming person. That turned out to be Nightwing, who walked in quicker than he normally would. The look on his face betrayed the fact that he had something he wanted to tell them.

"What's up?" Connie asked.

"Just thought you'd want to know, but the science bros figured it out," he responded with a grin.

Both children's eyes opened and after looking at each other, they took off running to the hallway.

"Hey! Don't run so fast!" Nightwing called impatiently as he ran after them, attempting to keep up in spite of his contradiction.

…

At any other time, Batwing's lab would've featured him and a couple others in it at any given time. Now, it was crowded by around nearly twenty people, all of whom were focused only on the portal that they'd invented to get to their home.

Batwing coughed and motioned towards a ramp with a large ring around it; control panels were on either end, supported by bunches of wires reaching into the corners of the room. "Basically, this is what we'd call a portal in a science fiction movie. It's a lot to explain, but the short version? We locked into the energy signature of the cluster container and started mashing electrons inside here. Once we turn it on, the electrons we've got stored in the ring will keep colliding until they smash a wormhole into your dimension."

"I've also made sure that it's hazard-free," Pearl said. A sudden pipe burst was heard from the machine, causing her to groan. "Mostly."

"When's this operational?" asked Lapis.

"It's ready as of two minutes ago," Batgirl replied. "We can flip it on whenever you want. However, there is a catch."

"And that is?" Batwoman asked, one of her brows furrowed in anticipation.

"The portal is a one-way trip," Luke said. "Once the container goes through with them, we'll lose the signal and thus the only gateway to their dimension. If you decide to go anytime soon, you need to have everyone on board with this."

Garnet stepped forwards and quickly held out her hand to Batwing, who shook it gingerly. "Thank you."

"Yeah," Peridot added. "I can finally get back to our clods."

"Admit it," Nightwing steed. "You're going to miss getting mad at us."

"No, I won't!" Peridot said embarrassedly before folding her arms.

"It was nice meeting you all," Azrael pointed out. "Perhaps one day, we can meet under more… friendly circumferences."

"I'd like that," Pearl said, a smile on her face.

Lapis walked off to Clayface and Orphan, both of which were leaning against the wall in a duo. She looked slightly crestfallen when she lamented "Well, I guess this is goodbye."

Orphan moved closer and grabbed her hand. "Not…end. You'll be…okay. That's…what matters."

Chuckling, Clayface joined in as well. "It sure was a ride, huh? Look…it stinks we're separating so soon, but nothin ever lasts forever. At least we got to have some fun."

"You sound like you want more water," Lapis said playfully. This sent the three into laughter.

Not far away, Steven looked around at his friends and family, happy that things had gone such a positive way. So elevated in the happiness of the moment, he couldn't bring himself to think of anything that could make things better. That came, surprisingly, in the form of a small hand upon his shoulder. Whipping around, he came face to face with Robin, accompanied by Batman and looking a tad more respecting than earlier.

"Universe."

"Robin," Steven replied. "What's up?"

It took several seconds for Damian to respond, and by the time he did it came out as a strained gurgle. "…You did well. I am…hopeful for your safe journey home."

"Well, thanks!" Steven replied. "You're pretty good, too!"

Robin blushed embarrassedly and scratched his head. "Understood."

Batman smiled when he saw this. "It seems that you've grown on him. Didn't think I'd see a day when somebody that he just met a day ago would do such a thing."

"Friendship can turn the coldest people to your side," Steven said.

"Ahem," a voice brought everyone's attention to Garnet, standing by the pad in front of the portal device. "It's time to go home." With goodbyes and farewells addressed, the Gems began to congregate with their leader and faced the Bat-Family together. Lion was the last to join them, looking a bit sad at leaving these new acquaintances.

"We've said this many times, but once again, thank you," Garnet said. "You helped us when no one else would, even when things got a little…rough. We're going to never forever this adventure or any of you, and I can only hope that this will be the same for you."

"Bye!" Amethyst said as she waved a hand.

"It was nice to meet you all," Pearl commented.

"Bye, Clods!" Peridot remarked.

Lion simply growled and Lapis smiled. Steven and Connie gripped hands as they looked at the Bat-Family and grinned. Taking steps to be in line with the rest of their group, they waved hands as the blue energy seeped in from the circle and surrounded them. Energy snapped alive and overtook the area, resulting in a short but bright flash of light. When everything was over, all that was left of the Gems was an empty spot and eight spots of burned shadow.

"Let's hope they got to their home," Batwoman commented.

"Don't worry," Batman said. "I know they did."

…

After what seemed like a short eternity, Steven opened his eyes and felt the warm and familiar rays of the sun upon his body. He turned and saw that all of them had landed on the sandy shores of Beach City as if they'd never left. Better yet, they seemed to be right in front of the Temple.

"Ugh," Amethyst groaned as she got up. When she realized where they were, her face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Guys, we're home!"

"I can see that," Peridot said bluntly.

"Home sweet home," Garnet said. She took a gaze around and smelled the air of their residence, content with returning to what they'd missed. Everyone's ears were soon alerted to the sharp movements of sand and turned to see Steven's father, Greg Universe, barreling towards them in a frantic attitude. "Steven! You guys! Where have you been?! I've been looking all over for you!"

Nobody quite knew how to answer it. Steven scratched his head and began to say, "Well…"

"It's a long story, Greg," Garnet finished for him.

Greg's face seemed to become sympathetic as he came to realize the tired and exhausted looks upon all of their faces. Just once, maybe he could give them some time to relax before answering questions. It wasn't like he could force any of the Gems to do it.

"Whatever it was, I'm sure it wait till after lunch," he said in a suddenly cheerful tune. "Who wants some food? I can go make burgers while you hang out here?"

"That sounds like an excellent idea, Greg," said Pearl.

"Ooh!" I can help, Mr.. Universe!" Connie exclaimed, and both took off towards the house.

Amethyst turned to Peridot and grinned a sneaky smirk, catching the small green Gem off guard. "Hey, Peri?"

"What?"

"You up for some volleyball?" Amethyst transformed before Peridot could properly respond into a giant purple ball with her face on it.

"No!" Peridot replied annoyedly, but that didn't stop Amethyst from immediately rolling towards her. Turning the other direction and running away, she screamed, "Leave me alone, clod! Lapis, help!"

"Sorry, I think this too interesting to miss," Lapis said as she sat down and watched the two run into the distance, amused by their antics.

On Steven's left, Lion roared mildly before settling down into one of his trademark naps. Steven smiled and sat next to his furry pet, resting his head in the fluid pink fur. "You're tired buddy? Me too. I guess we could both use a nap…"

Under Garnet's watch, Steven drifted into peaceful sleep next to Lion. She turned and took in everyone's actions, from Amethyst chasing Peridot to the placid Lapis, and Connie and Pearl helping Greg in the house make lunch.

Going to that dimension had been a scary, yet rewarding experience. They'd made friends, stopped a great evil, and become stronger heroes as a result. It was like the universe was trying to put them through the ringer for a reason - one even she couldn't put together.

Gripping the small bubbled gem that was Emerald, Garnet slowly walked towards the others locked in their crazy version of volleyball. She didn't know for certain what the future definitely might be, but the crystal gems would meet it head-on.


	17. Chapter 17

Fear. It was an element that sufficed in every aspect of life across the multiverse. Whether it was fear of something simple or something horrible, it amounted to the same thing; drastic action.

On the world of Aris, fear has already taken root here. The spirits were in a mad rancor. Something was happening to their planet, and they didn't know what to do about it. Naturally, many had assumed that the events regarding Oleander and his antics were the cause. Of course, they were right, but to no degree knew just how far it went.

The "breaches" had grown fervently;" thin yet cancerous red marks threateningly lodged themselves into the skies of the planet, bringing about negative feelings and terrible omens. Being incorporeal, the spirits could only watch as the problem grew, doubting their own ability to do something.

And to make matters worse, there had been an unusual amount of power sent into a small container from the galaxy of the Gems. It had allowed yet another crossover to happen, resulting in the growth of the breaches. The spirits were dead serious that this anomaly was only the omen of more; they had to do something.

So with what they could muster, they called upon a memory, a faint spell linked to the beginning of Aris. Winds blew and powers rose as a being of pure red energy appeared from thin air. He was wrapped in a dark green cloak, his red face and fingers surging with wildness never contained by anything. He had yellow eyes and a hair composed of moving, yet calm, fire that kept in place. Coughing a breath of new life, he looked upon the spirits and hummed a happy tune.

"I take it you were the ones to summon me?" The figure asked with a charming tone in his voice.

 _We have summoned you, Iris, for a task of utmost importance. An importance to everything there is, ever was, and will be in the reaches of existence._

"Okay," he replied nonchalantly. "What is it?"

 _In your absence, a great evil conquered this planet and ruined it; he was called Oleander. He was stopped by a coalition of beings from different realms, but his actions opened anomalies across time and space._

"I don't see what the problem is," Iris snapped back. "So what if this Oleander guy created anomalies? What's the big deal?"

 _These anomalies are growing in size and power, threatening the bonds of the multiverse. The longer we wait, the more cancerous they become. It is your task to stop them._

"How am I supposed to stop them, better yet close them? I've barely used my powers for millions of year, and now I just got back."

 _Figure it out._

The spirits disappeared into Aris' peaceful atmosphere, leaving Iris there on his own. After a few seconds, he chuckled and turned on his heel to the distance.

"Well, time to get started."

 **So let me explain. This "epilogue" acts a direct continuation as the main story from Potluck, inferring that certain story elements here were caused by that story. As this series goes on, we'll get more in depth into our new character Iris and what the consequences of Oleander's potluck are.**

 **Now, I have a bit of a big announcement. I love fan fiction and doing this, but the end of the year is approaching for school, and I need to focus on my work by putting in the effort. I'm going to taker a two-week hiatus from fan fiction so I can focus. When I return to writing, I'll be working on finishing Ant-Aunt and starting other stories and pen-shots. I hope you all understand, but don't worry, I'm not going anywhere! This potluck series will continue!**


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